I want to thank the usual suspects: Kelly, Frass, and ABC for their friendship and never ending encouragement and support. I feel like this is your story as much as it is mine…but it’s not and I still want all of the praise for it. But all of the mistakes and typos and screw-ups, those are on you guys, all the way : ) : ) : )

To Sal, my beta and friend, I bow, prostrate, and humble myself. You are an amazing editor, but it’s your friendship that I value most of all. Thank you so much for staying at your post despite the fact that life has been way less than kind to you lately. You’re nothing but a joy and an inspiration. The semi-colons are on me.

And finally, to the Mighty Oral. *sigh* Once again this story is dedicated to you. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but this straight girl is so totally “Ginawhipped”.

Oh well, it turns out I can live with that…quite happily. Xxxooo

-Bobbi Manuel

Safe As Kittens

Chapter One

“Lehane!”

Faith was lying on her bunk staring at the wall next to her bed, and she barely moved at the sound of the guard’s voice.

“Get down here!”

She didn’t want to respond, hoping against hope if she stayed still he’d just let it slide. She knew it was Eddie and he was a decent guy, but he’d already given her the order five times. Any of the other guards would have just come in by now, hauled her off her bed and given her a beating. With a few of them, she’d probably even have been on her way to the hole, especially if it’d been one of the female guards she was dealing with.

They were mean bitches, always looking for a way to hand out pain, kind of like the nuns Faith remembered from her days in Catholic school. Eddie wasn’t like that. He was tough, but he was fair and he actually gave a shit about the inmates. Still, rules were rules and Eddie didn’t take kindly to being disrespected.

“Lehane, get your ass down here…now!”

She sighed and rolled over, hopping down gracefully before she made him do something they’d both regret.

“Yeah, fine. Happy now?”

The door buzzed as it slid open, and Faith finally lifted her head, shaking her hair back from her disinterested eyes as she prepared to go wherever the fuck she had to go. She had no clue what the special occasion was, she hadn’t had a visitor in almost four months. Not since she’d finally gotten rid of Angel for good, and not since she’d refused to see her latest lawyer.

She just wanted to be left alone now, and talking about redemption, appeals, and other shit that involved a happy future she’d never have and didn’t deserve, well, she was all done with that.

“Get in.”

Faith saw what was happening, her mind was just having trouble processing it.

Buffy Summers was walking into the cell, decked out in the finest in prison wear and carrying her meager state issue possessions.

“Okay, no killing her, Lehane.”

He called out:

“Lock’em down!”

The door slid shut again, locking the Slayers inside their cozy home.

“It’s just until dinner, let her get acclimated. You girls play nice.”

He left them standing where they were, Faith speechless and more confused than she’d ever been in her life. It was Buffy who broke the spell, walking past Faith to place her stuff down on the tiny shelf that pretended to be a desk, then moseying the six steps it took to stand by the bunk beds.

“I’d ask you for the grand tour, but I think I’ve already seen it all, especially the bathroom. God, that’s not going to be pleasant.”

“What the…what the fuck are you doing here?”

Buffy was still staring in horror at the toilet:

“There’s just no way that pictures can do it justice.”

Faith grabbed Buffy by the arm and swung her around to face her, her eyes intense and angry:

“I asked you what the fuck this is.”

“What does it look like, Faith?”

“Like I hit my head or the mac and cheese didn’t agree with me.”

Buffy pulled her arm loose:

“I suppose either of those things could be true, but they’ve got nothing to do with me being here.”

“Stop fucking around and tell me what the fuck is going on!”

“I guess you could say I’m kinda undercover.”

“‘Undercover’. Like what, some lame episode of ‘Jumpstreet 21’?”

“Hey, I love that show, at least the Johnny Depp years.”

Faith ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

“Just cut the crap and lay it out.”

Buffy’s somewhat playful demeanor disappeared, replaced by a Slayer serious look that Faith was quite accustomed to.

“I’m here because we’re worried about you.”

“We? Who’s ‘we’?”

“Giles, Angel, and me.”

Faith looked disbelieving:

“You’re worried?”

“Well what did you think, Faith? You’ve refused to see anyone for four months and the reports from in here haven’t been good.”

“So what the fuck’s it to you?”

“That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?”

Faith looked lost:

“Not in the mood, so stop dancin’ around, Buffy.”

“Fine, in simple terms here it is: you are not going to pull this.”

“Pull what?”

Buffy was gliding her hand along the rough blanket on Faith’s bunk:

“You’re not going to self-destruct.”

Faith laughed, short and bitter:

“Think that’s already happened, ‘sides, how do I put this, B? You’re not the boss of me.”

“Apparently I am.”

“In your dreams, bitch.”

Buffy smiled, the kind of smile that instantly made Faith uneasy.

“Oh, so you wanna talk about your dreams, Faith? And here I was all positive you wouldn’t want to.”

“W…what are…I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Liar.”

For a moment Faith looked panicked, but she covered quickly:

“You’re not staying here.”

“That’s not your decision to make.”

“The fuck it’s not!”

She grabbed onto the bars:

“Eddie!”

There was no response.

“Eddie!!!”

“What?!”

He sauntered down the hall to stand in front of her.

“I want her outta here.”

“Yeah? Bet you’d like you outta there too.”

“Don’t dick around. You know I bunk alone.”

He looked apologetic:

“Sorry, it’s outta my hands. She’s been assigned to your cell for the long haul, Warden’s orders.”

“Since fucking when?”

“Since fucking today.”

Faith’s fist slammed against the bars, hard enough to cause Eddie to take an involuntary step back, his hand falling to his nightstick. He liked the young woman in front of him, she’d saved his life and risked her own in doing it, but he also knew how dangerous she truly was.

“I don’t like cell mates.”

With her face contorted into a snarl like it was and her voice murmuring low and deadly, Eddie wasn’t exactly being put at ease by her.

“I know that, and if it was up to me…”

“Get her outta here or I’m gonna.”

“I can’t, Faith, and neither can you. C’mon, why don’t you just give her a chance? She’s little and pretty, she’s gonna need some protection, ‘specially from Frankie.”

“Not my problem. I want her gone.”

He shook his head as he turned to go:

“Well, it’s not my problem either. And don’t try any of your crazy shit.”

“GET HER OUTTA HERE!”

He ignored her and walked away, and Faith hit the bars with enough force to bend one just slightly.

“Fuck!”

“It looks like we’re stuck here.”

“Shut up, Buffy. There’s all kindsa things I can…”

“Right, so what’s the big plan? Gonna get yourself thrown into solitary again? Well go ahead, I’ll still be here when you get out.”

“Yeah? How ‘bout I beat the shit outta you instead? Send your ass to the infirmary for a week.”

Buffy laughed and sat down on the lower bunk:

“Um, in the unlikely event you could actually manage to do that, I’d be coming right back here when I got out. We’re roomies, so deal.”

“This isn’t a country club, Blondie. It’s a fucking prison and you shouldn’t be here.”

“Thanks for the concern, F, but since you’ve decided to go all suicidal…”

“I’m not suicidal!”

Buffy examined the bed, then laid back on it, her face clearly expressing her distaste:

“Call it whatever you want, I’m here because of how you’ve been acting. You were scaring Angel and now you’ve cut him off completely.”

“Angel’s fuckin’ irritating and I got sick of listening to his bullshit.”

“Then your lawyer told you he could get your sentence reduced, maybe even overturned and you…”

“Guy was a dipshit, shinin’ me on to keep takin’ Soulboy’s money.”

“Maybe, but then the new lawyer said the same thing and she was working for free as a favor to…”

Faith kicked at the wall and began pacing:

“Bitch is a cunt. Probably just wants in Angel’s pants.”

“Uh-huh, right. Hey, are all of the blankets this scratchy or is this a new one? Because when you think about it, I can totally live with scratchy if I don’t have to imagine some other woman doing…you know, ‘things’ while she…”

Faith strode over to the bed, bent down and grabbed Buffy by the shoulders. She pulled hard, yanking her out and up to her feet, their faces just inches apart:

“Get the fuck out of here, Buffy.”

“No.”

“Leave.”

“I can’t, I’m the responsible Slayer, remember? This is my job, so if you want me to leave you’re going to have to start trying again.”

Faith didn’t speak, her breath escaping in sharp, angry blasts.

“I don’t want you here.”

“Too bad, I’m staying.”

They stood in silence and finally Buffy had had enough:

“I’d suggest you let go of me now before you find yourself heading to the infirmary.”

Faith’s grip tightened as she fought to get her herself under control. It wasn’t fast enough for Buffy and she leaned in closer to Faith:

“Okay then, give us a kiss.”

Faith let go instantly, startled as she shoved Buffy backwards.

“Fuck!”

She turned, slamming her fist into the wall, knocking out a tiny dent in the concrete and leaving a small smear of blood behind when the skin ripped at her knuckles. She struggled to slow her breathing, resting her hot forehead on the cool stone as she tried to block out what was happening.

Buffy Summers was standing in her cell and Buffy Summers wasn’t going anywhere.

******

The Slayers each lay on their own bunks, Faith refusing to say a word. Buffy took the hint and remained silent, but when dinner time finally rolled around two and a half hours later, she was looking forward to escaping from the claustrophobic tension caused by sharing a cell with an angry Faith.

As she hadn’t gone through the normal orientation so graciously provided by the prison, Buffy had no clue what was expected of her when she heard the rustling of prisoners stirring and felt the heavy expectancy in the air. She knew it was around dinner time, but she had no idea what that actually entailed.

Buffy got up off her bed when Faith hopped down, and she had to ask her twice before Faith would grudgingly answer:

“Just be ready when the door opens. We stand in line for the count, then head for the chow hall.”

“Okay, that sounds easy enough.”

Faith sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes as she turned to face Buffy:

“Nothing’s easy here. Gotta watch your back every second. Plus you’re new. Stick close, they won’t fuck with you as much then.”

“Slayer here, Faith, I think I can handle myself.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know that. You look like a ‘fuck all you can’ buffet, B. You’re small and pretty, bitches are gonna be all over you.”

“And then I’ll get them off of me.”

“But ya don’t need a trip to the hole and ya don’t need a beatin’. For once in your life, will ya just do what I tell ya? Stay close, I got a rep and that’ll help.”

The call went out and the cells slid open. They all fell in line and after a couple of minutes they were told to move out. Buffy walked next to Faith, but soon found herself jerked back a couple of steps.

“Hey baby, where’d you come from?”

A large, tough looking woman wearing a headband and a mullet, as well as cut-off sleeves revealing her big arm muscles, was leering in Buffy’s face.

“Nowhere near you.”

“Yeah? Want me to show ya how near to me you can…”

She was shoved back hard, bouncing off the railing that separated the walkway from the two flight drop.

“Hands off, Deb. She’s mine.”

Deb’s hands went up in immediate surrender:

“Sorry, Faith. I didn’t know you’d already claimed her.”

“Now ya do, so beat it.”

With a nod, Debbie took off for the stairway and the other women filed past them without a word.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding. What was that, like ten seconds?”

“Fuck B, look in a mirror. Not every day someone lookin’ like you strolls in.”

“Was that a compliment?”

Faith scowled at her and looked like she was going to punch her:

“Just fucking pay attention. Not gonna hold your hand for ya.”

Without another word they headed into the noisy cafeteria. There were four guards present and a long line of other inmates. Faith grabbed her hand and went up towards the front, sliding in front of a short but tough looking Hispanic woman.

“Thanks for the place hold, Juanita.”

“You got it, Boss. Hey, who’s the powder puff?”

Buffy turned to face her:

“Hi, I’m Buffy.”

“’Buffy’? Your name’s ‘Buffy’? HAHAHA!!! Fuck Faith, why don’t ya just stick a bulls-eye on her and call it a day?”

Faith didn’t comment, but Buffy did and she was clearly irritated:

“I can handle myself just fine...Juanita.”

Juanita just kept right on laughing:

“Yeah, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be the only one doin’ the handling. Where’d you find her, Faith?”

“In my cell. Here, B.”

She handed Buffy a tray and slid her own along the metal railing as she began receiving the meal being served up one disgusting dish at a time. When she got to the meat area, the mean looking woman behind the counter lit up.

“How’s it going, Faith?”

“It’s goin’. How much longer ‘til the world stops spinnin’?”

“Just nine more days. Did I tell you she’s already got her job all lined up?”

“Only like six times, but who’s countin’?.”

The lunch lady laughed as she handed a large, delicious looking steak to Faith that was almost as big as the plate it was presented on.

“I’m really proud of her.”

“And ya oughta be. The kid’s makin’ it big time.”

“She really is and it’s all thanks to you.”

Faith actually looked embarrassed:

“Whatever. Wonder if you got somethin’ better for this one?”

She gestured at Buffy and the woman…”Mary”…according to her nametag, looked Buffy up and down before her eyes returned to Faith:

“Girlfriend?”

“Sorta. She eats way more than it looks, so was hopin’ maybe…”

Another huge, mouthwatering steak was handed to Buffy.

“Any friend of yours. You be good to Faith, sweetie.”

“I will be, I promise.”

“Hey bitches, wanna move it so I can get my delicious baby cat chop for dinner?”

Juanita was obviously joking, but she was also pushing on Buffy slightly as she tried to move her along. Faith glanced back at her:

“Keep your fuckin’ tampon in. Thanks, Mare.”

“Wish I could do more.”

They slid along, getting some potatoes, some unidentified fruit swimming in some mystery sauce, some stringy, slimy green beans, and then the stalest looking piece of cake Buffy had ever seen. It looked like Buffy’s fourth grade science experiment.

“So what was that all about?”

“What?”

“With Mary, Faith.”

“Nothin’.”

Faith grabbed two cartons of milk, placing one on Buffy’s tray and then heading off to a table in the corner. She sat down with her back to the wall and Buffy sat down next to her. Juanita joined them and then two black women and a white girl approached:

“Who’s the new fish?”

Faith didn’t even bother to look up:

“Name’s Buffy. Spread the word she’s mine, yeah?”

The bigger of the two black women: Large Marge, chuckled as she sat down and began eating.

“Fuck, a piece that fine, word’s already all over the place.”

“Spread it more. Prefer not to have a buncha shit go down.”

They all nodded and began eating in what was an unmistakably tense silence. It wasn’t long before the other convicts started sharing looks between them about the dark cloud that was Faith, but no one dared to speak up until Buffy decided she’d had enough:

“So Faith, what happened with Mary?”

“Leave it.”

“I don’t wanna leave it.”

Every head at the table snapped up at Buffy’s words and the tone in which she’d said them. Faith’s jaw was clenched and she was visibly furious as her eyes met Buffy’s:

“…B, less you wanna throw down right here, shut the fuck up. We’ll talk later.”

It was a struggle, but Buffy remained quiet. She knew she had to respect the pecking order, at least in public, if she wanted to get along with Faith. Giles had explained it all in great detail. Great, great detail, but it still wasn’t easy to just let Faith throw her weight around. Besides the fact that it was Faith’s behavior that had them in the unpleasant situation they were now in, Buffy wasn’t used to kowtowing to anyone, least of all Faith.

But she kept her mouth closed, even breaking the staring contest they had going to “meekly” return her attention to her food. Faith continued glaring at her for several seconds before she finally began eating as well. Once she did, the rest of the table followed suit, the relief palpable among the other women.

The peace and quiet didn’t last long. Five large and clearly unfriendly women approached the table. One stood way too close, her eyes all over Buffy:

“And who do we have here?”

There was no doubt that she was the leader. Arrogant, big, tough, and Buffy had seen kinder eyes on demons.

“She’s mine, Frankie, so waddle your fat ass back over to your table.”

“Why don’t we let the lady decide who she likes better?”

“Because I make the decisions.”

“Fuck you, Lehane.”

“Not if I’m breathin’.”

Frankie laughed, but there was no amusement in it:

“Sooner or later bitch, you’re gettin’ paid back and I’m gonna make sure you’re breathing for it.”

Faith looked up:

“Yeah, ‘cause that worked so well for you last time. What’d ya lose, five of your best bitches?”

“I’ve got plenty more.”

“Trust me, you start somethin’ again, this time I’m takin’ you out for good. Now back the fuck off ‘fore you and this fork get acquainted.”

Frankie didn’t move and Faith got to her feet.

Two of the guards began moving towards them, and while it agitated everyone else, neither Faith nor Frankie seemed to care.

“Fine bitch, but after I’m done with you, I’m gonna show your little girl there what it’s all about. Then my crew can have what’s left of her.”

With a wink she blew Buffy a kiss as she walked off, her thugs going with her. Faith sat back down and began eating again as the guards returned to their original posts with a gruffly yelled:

“Settle down over there!”

With the dust settled, the group at the table resumed their meal as if nothing had happened. Buffy of course, had questions:

“So that was Frankie?”

Faith glanced at her, still pissed and wanting her to shut up:

“Yeah, that’s why I fuckin’ called her ‘Frankie’.”

Juanita took pity on Buffy:

“So Buffy, what are you in for?”

Buffy pulled her eyes from Faith with difficulty, deciding it was best not to push it for now. She looked around at the other women:

“I assaulted someone.”

Juanita couldn’t stop the laugh that blew out of her.

“You ‘assaulted’ someone? What, were you standing on somebody’s shoulders when you did it?”

“No, I was sitting.”

Everyone but Faith burst into laughter and Juanita smacked Buffy lightly on the arm:

“Hey, you’re alright! Fuck, takes all kinds, yeah? So, you innocent like all the rest of us?”

Buffy smiled, she was liking Juanita a lot.

“Yep, the coppers sold me down the river.”

The women burst into laughter again, but Faith just rolled her eyes. Buffy’s attempt to talk like a seasoned con was probably for real, yet it was so bad Juanita and the girls thought she had to be kidding.

“Jesus B, just shut up.”

Buffy quirked an eyebrow and smiled at Faith while Juanita regained enough control of herself to speak:

“Yeah, I hear you, chica. The only one I’ve met in here who admits they’re guilty is Faith.”

“Really? And why is that, Faith?”

Faith didn’t look up from her tray:

“’Cause I am.”

Juanita leaned forward eagerly, her voice and face full of passion:

“Maybe, but all of the things you’ve done in here, the lives you’ve saved…”

“Stow it.”

“…Eddie, Amber, me and that’s not even mentioning…”

Faith slid her tray away angrily:

“Shut the fuck up! Nobody asked you to do a roll call.”

“Well, I’m doing it free of…”

Faith was up then, yanking Juanita to her feet.

“Dinner’s over. Go someplace else.”

She let go with a slight shove and Juanita stumbled back, her face a mixture of hurt and surprise.

“Jesus Faith, take it easy. I was just…”

“You either go away or you’re goin’ to see the Doc.”

“Fine, be a bitch. Nice to meet you, Buffy. Good luck with that one.”

And then she was gone and Faith sat back down.

“The rest of you haul it too.”

The other women left without a word and Faith sat silently.

“Well, you’re not the most pleasant dinner companion, are you?”

“Just shut up, Buffy. I don’t wanna talk to you either.”

“Yeah, I got that, but here’s the thing you should know: I’ve read all the reports. I know exactly what you’ve done while you’ve been in here. How you took a knife in the chest to save Officer Rhodes’ life, how you protected a young girl named Amber from…”

Faith was up and walking out the door and Buffy watched her go. She sat there trying to identify the fruit on her plate. How was it possible that she couldn’t figure out a piece…a pieces of broken apart fruit?

She looked up to see nearly everybody in the cafeteria staring at her and she let out a sigh:

“Oh yeah, welcome to the Big House, Buffy.”

Chapter Two

When lights-out time came that night, Buffy had a slight, momentary freak out. She had to calm herself: she was okay and she could leave any time she wanted to. She wasn’t trapped, wasn’t confined and unable to get out, not like Faith was and had been for three long years now. Buffy was where she was by choice, a different kind of choice than Faith’s, and that knowledge helped her accept the darkness, the catcalls and chatter drifting through it, and then the weirdly coiled quiet that surrounded her.

Faith still hadn’t spoken, and after stripping down to her wife beater and panties, she’d opted to hide on her bunk with her face to the wall. But now, about twenty minutes after the lights had gone out, something had changed. Faith was now standing below the tiny slit that passed for a window, the small shaft of moonlight illuminating her wherever it touched. As she turned away and began pacing, the harsh silver beam caught her eyes and Buffy could see what was wrong: Faith wanted to slay.

She continued to pace without comment, walking quickly in the tiny area, her arms hugging her body tightly. It was just how Buffy imagined a drug addict would act while in the throes of withdrawal and she knew firsthand how her own body wanted to…no, needed to slay. She felt the pull to be out in the dark night and engaged in the thick of the hunt, to be immersed in the kill because it was where she belonged.

It was a basic instinct – something in her calling out, and to be unable to answer that call, to have to stand beneath a narrow glimpse of what you couldn’t have…That was torture, plain and simple, and had been every single night of the last three years.

“Faith?”

Buffy spoke in a near whisper, not wanting to call attention to them and not wanting to startle Faith who seemed to have forgotten she was there.

“Faith?”

The pacing stopped, and Buffy could see the muscles bunched in her back.

“…What?”

“Do you want to spar?”

There was no response at first, but then Faith released a large exhale:

“Pretty cramped in here.”

Buffy stood up:

“I think we can manage and if we’re lucky, maybe we’ll even slay the toilet.”

Faith’s voice still didn’t sound friendly, but there was a distinct softening:

“Jesus, B, in here that thing’s a luxury.”

“Uh-huh. I say it’s a mini-Hellmouth.”

She was facing Faith in her matching underwear outfit, and the faint glow from the corridor and the thin shaft of moonlight provided just enough light for them to see each other. As her Slayer sight kicked in, Buffy saw Faith’s dimples deepen at her comment.

“Alright, so how you wanna do this?”

“Hmm…the way we always do, except right on top of each other.”

Faith couldn’t hide her smile at Buffy’s comment and she thought back to how they used to spar. They’d always had a blast when they went at it, the sheer exhilaration of hitting with all of the speed and power you could unleash and knowing that the other person could not only take it, they could give it right back, physically and verbally.

She’d always felt so close to Buffy at those times, like she’d found the place where she belonged, but even though she wanted to stay there, all too quickly real life would make itself known again. It was then that Faith would understand without a doubt that she didn’t truly belong anywhere…and certainly not with Buffy.

“Faith, are you ready?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Buffy had no clue what had caused the shutdown to occur so completely and suddenly, but she was aware that the minor progress she’d just made had vanished as if it had never existed. She chose to ignore it and plowed ahead, hoping that maybe some sparring was exactly what they needed.

She faked with her right and tagged Faith hard on the chin, snapping her head back.

“Still punch like a girl, B.”

“At least I punch, which is more than I can say for…”

Faith’s combo only landed the first blow as Buffy quickly slipped past the second one to grab onto her. They stood there grappling for the upper hand, straining and twisting.

“You’re stronger than I remember, F.”

“And you’re faster.”

Buffy smiled with excitement:

“But I can still take you.”

“Give it your best, Blondie.”

They fought for twenty violent minutes, the close quarters and need to be quiet only serving to heighten the intensity between them. Buffy punched Faith off balance, then hooked her leg and shoved her hard against the wall. She went in for the kill, but Faith rolled along the concrete to gain space and kicked Buffy in the stomach, sending her to a knee.

She moved quickly as Buffy struggled to her feet, smacking her twice and knocking her hard against the frame of the bunk beds. Faith wasted no time, charging in at full speed for the victory, but Buffy whirled clear at the last second, shoving Faith headfirst into the lower bunk and following right behind her. She had her pinned in moments.

“I win.”

Faith said nothing, her face smashed into a pillow that smelled like Buffy, her arms restrained in Buffy’s grasp and her body held down by Buffy’s soft, yet unyielding one. It was Buffy everywhere and Faith couldn’t move or speak.

She felt totally alive, tingling just like she always did whenever Buffy touched her. And there in the secluded darkness of Buffy’s bed, her senses filled with the woman she loved and had fucked over, Faith decided to remain silent and hopefully outlast the Slayer who had control of her in so many ways.

She jumped when Buffy’s lips brushed her ear:

“Faith…”

Whispered softly, intimately, and Faith couldn’t believe the raw desire that shot through her, its own kind of adrenaline that caused her not to try and pull loose, but instead prompted her to relax into the moment.

“…say I’m the winner.”

That voice still so intimate, the caress of her breath, the feel of Buffy’s breasts gliding along her back, the thrill of slightly stronger hands gripping hers, the soft tickle of silky blonde hair gliding against her cheek, the warm bare skin touching hers, the heat she could feel through the thin fabric of their underwear, it all had Faith trying not to moan out loud.

“…You’re the winner.”

“Yes, I am. So what’s my prize?”

Faith wasn’t sure how to answer. From where she was, it seemed like maybe she herself was the winner. Buffy was squirming around on top of her and Faith had no desire to be anywhere else. She felt surrounded by Buffy, her smell everywhere, her voice, her hot body moving just enough.

“What’d ya want, B?”

Faith groaned as Buffy’s body pushed down harder and her hands tightened their grip:

“Hmmm…what can I have?”

“Uh…”

“Tell me, F…”

Faith felt a tongue dart out against her ear:

“…how far will you go?”

Faith knew the real answer was “pretty fucking far” when it came to Buffy, but she wasn’t about to admit that.

“Up to you, B. Been in a chick prison awhile, I can pretty much do it all.”

She expected Buffy to move off her then, but Buffy just pressed closer, making herself even more comfortable.

“Nice try, but I’ve gotten used to this between us over the last year or so.”

“…What do you mean?”

Buffy laughed:

“You know exactly what I mean, but if you want me to say it, fine. Those dreams you’ve been having…”

Faith tried to pull loose then, but Buffy held on.

“Oh no, you wanted to hear it and you’re going to. Those dreams you’ve been having…”

Buffy’s tongue was back:

“…well, I’ve been having them too.”

Faith’s struggles stopped. She went totally still as her heart rate jacked up to an impossibly fast tempo.

“See, I know what you’ve been feeling…’cause I‘ve been feeling it too.”

Her lips travelled leisurely to Faith’s neck, leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake.

“A lot of stuff’s been…cleared up between us…and me? I like it like that, F.”

Faith struggled to find her voice and when she did, it came out all shaky:

“So what, we shared some hot Slayer dreams and now ya wanna go a round with me? All for it, but ya mind lettin’ me loose so I can do some damage of my own?”

“I guess that depends on what kind of damage you’ve got in mind.”

“Whatever kind you’re up for, Twinkie.”

Buffy laughed again, the sound all sexy in Faith’s ear.

“Okay, tough girl. Fun’s over…for now.”

She released her hold on Faith and slid out, her rock hard nipples grazing along Faith’s back as she left. Faith stayed where she was for a beat too long, finally rousing herself to move.

She tried to get up casually, but she ended up scrambling out of Buffy’s bunk. She hopped up onto her own without a word and rolled towards the wall. Buffy stood looking at her for a minute, their combined breathing the only sound between them. Buffy’s eyes were burning a hole in Faith’s back, she could feel it, and she finally turned over to let her eyes meet the eyes of her cell mate.

Neither spoke a word and yet somehow the truth was exchanged. Buffy nodded as Faith kept staring, and as she prepared to retreat to her own bed, she summed it up:

“Time to deal, F…for both of us.”

And then Buffy was gone, hidden from view and yet Faith kept right on staring, still able to see her standing there in the dim light.

******

The morning brought with it an early wake-up call, a surprise shakedown, an irritating cell straighten up after the surprise shakedown, breakfast, and then the dreaded shower scene from every horrible prison movie ever made. Buffy wasn’t scared, although if she hadn’t been a Slayer she would’ve had to have been dragged from her cell.

As it was she walked calmly, carrying her towel, her tiny bar of soap, and her little plastic bottle of shampoo. She thought about pretending she was at a swanky hotel, but besides the fact that the Ritz staff probably didn’t make its guests march single file down the hall to the communal shower, she realized it would be reckless to let herself get distracted by a fantasy. She was in a dangerous place and needed to stay focused.

Faith didn’t look at her, but Buffy heard her resigned sigh before she spoke:

“Just stay close and you’ll be okay. Can’t do shit about them eye fuckin’ you, so don’t get pissed. Just ignore’em.”

“Okay.”

They reached the outer part of the shower room and Faith sat her stuff down on one of the tables and began stripping off her clothes. As each item was removed, Buffy couldn’t help but gaze at all of the beautiful skin on display.

It wasn’t even sexual at first, it was more like she was studying a work of art. Everything was in its perfect place, all of the shapes and shadings flowing just so to allow the piece to come vibrantly to life.

But as high minded as all that was, Buffy was just a woman, a woman who had learned something about herself when it came to the sex bomb standing gloriously nude, and there was no way she could stop the lust from surging through her. She stood staring, her eyes large and taking in every inch of Faith that they could.

“Gettin’ a good look, B?”

Buffy didn’t stop staring, didn’t blush, didn’t try to lie her way out of it.

“I am, but could you turn around…slowly?”

If anyone one else in the world had said that to her, Faith would have laughed and done as they asked. Coming from Buffy it made her heart skip a beat, and she tossed her clothes into one of the laundry carts against the wall. She reached for her towel without letting her eyes meet Buffy’s:

“Better hurry, they don’t give us all that much time.”

“Okay.”

But that was easier said than done. The showers were a nightmare: shower heads attached to poles sunk into the tile floor, all facing one another. There was no privacy, and the two female guards hovering around just added to the fun.

Faith hung her towel on the small hook behind her, then turned the water on as she stood off to the side. She placed her soap and shampoo bottle on the ledge next to her while she waited, finally sticking out a hand to test the water temperature. She shifted her entire body underneath the steamy spray and Buffy had to force herself not to stare as the water eased over her smooth, taut skin, making it glisten and look even more beautiful than it already did.

Doing her best not to appear too self-conscious, Buffy mimicked Faith’s routine. She hung her towel on the little hook on the wall behind her and tried to ignore the many eyes that were blatantly appraising her. The ones that were just looking didn’t bother her too much and the ones that seemed to be lusting after her embarrassed her, but there was something else going on that was bothering her even more. It was the kind of disturbance that set her Slayer senses on high alert and she turned her head to see who was…Frankie.

The look in her eye wasn’t just lustful, which would have been plenty bad enough, it was all too clear to Buffy that Frankie wished her pain and lots of it. She obviously saw her as a way to get to Faith, and Buffy wasn’t exactly happy with letting her think that.

After all, she was The Slayer, and everything in her wanted to stride over and beat Frankie into an unrecognizable pulp, leaving just her ridiculous black crew cut intact so that her remains could be identified. Instead she turned away to place her soap and shampoo on her ledge…which she didn’t have because her shower head wasn’t on the end like Faith’s.

She glanced around to see what the other wall-less women were doing, but she couldn’t see anything except wet breasts and more tattoos than she’d ever imagined existed. She could still feel the eyes of several women on her, and she didn’t know what to do with herself. Her skin was heating up from more than just the water, her embarrassment at being on display naked was making itself known.

Suddenly everything got a million times worse…Buffy dropped the soap.

She had no clue what to do, but she did know one thing for sure: there was no way in the world she was bending over for it. Several of the other inmates laughed as they saw her predicament and a few made faces at her, hooting and hollering loudly:

“Yeah, bend over, baby!”

“Hey pretty fish, pick it up!”

“New girl’s askin’ for it!”

Buffy stood looking down at the soap like it was a hand grenade missing its pin, wondering if she was just seconds away from that scene in the Linda Blair movie she’d watched for research, when Faith walked over and just picked it up.

She handed it to Buffy with a huge smile, her eyes sparkling wickedly:

“Fuck B, wanna stop with the flirting?”

Buffy took the soap, doing her best not to look anywhere other than Faith’s face:

“Sorry, but everybody’s just so hot here, I couldn’t help myself.”

Faith laughed and took Buffy’s shampoo from her, placing it next to her own bottle. She slid under the water again and went back to rinsing her hair:

“Sing out when ya need it, B.”

Buffy got busy, hanging onto her soap like her life depended on it. When she was done washing, she turned to ask Faith for the shampoo, but was surprised to see she was already out and wrapped in her towel. She motioned Buffy to slide over to her previous spot.

“Shake a leg, they’re gonna toss us soon.”

Buffy washed and rinsed her hair quickly, more than happy to wrap her towel around herself. She went out the door on the other side of the room where she’d seen Faith exit, and was greeted by two bored looking guards.

“Number?”

“76 something. My name’s Buffy Summers.”

The guard looked up, irritated:

“Like I give a fuck. Either come up with a number or waltz around bare-assed.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed:

“Listen, I don’t think…”

“Her number’s 769445, Boss.”

Faith was standing there meekly, the expression on her face like nothing Buffy had ever seen or imagined she’d ever see on Faith.

“Yeah, well I don’t like her hoity toity attitude.”

“She’s just a fish…”

Faith leaned in:

“…and ‘tween me and you, she’s not all there upstairs.”

Buffy started to protest, but Faith’s hand clamped down hard on her arm.

“Ya mean she’s a retard or somethin’?”

“Well, I ain’t a doc, but she’s pretty slow.”

The guard looked at Buffy with disgust now instead of anger, but she was holding out a fresh set of clothes and a new towel.

“Here. Remember your number, freak!”

She said it loudly right in Buffy’s face, but before Buffy could comment or kill her, Faith was propelling her out of the room.

“Yeah, I’ll teach it to her. We’ll use phoe…funet…ebonics.”

“Whatever. Next time she can head her ass over to De-Seg.”

“Got it, Boss!”

Then they were in the dressing room and Faith rolled her eyes:

“Fuckin’ bitch. And what’s with you givin’ your name?”

“I thought it would be…”

“You’re not in a five star hotel.”

Buffy laughed:

“The Ritz.”

“What the fuck are you…Just fuckin’ get your shit on.”

And Faith walked out into the hallway.

Buffy got dressed as fast as she could, then found Faith leaning against a wall waiting for her.

“Going my way?”

Faith didn’t respond, but Buffy didn’t care. She was so relieved that the shower was over and that she hadn’t been gang raped with a broom handle, she felt downright giddy. That was until they turned the corner and saw Frankie and five of her crew waiting. They were strategically placed out of sight from the guards, and there were two lookouts at either end of the hall.

“Hey, where ya goin’, pretty girl?”

Buffy tensed, but Faith spoke first:

“Really wanna do this, Fattie?”

Frankie no longer pretended to be friendly:

“I’m not fat, bitch!”

“Yeah, I know. You’re big-boned.”

Buffy laughed, she couldn’t help it, and Frankie’s gaze turned to her:

“I got big fingers too, little girl. They make a huge fist.”

Frankie bounced hard on the floor, her big-boned body crashing into the far wall. Her crew looked stunned by how fast Faith had moved, but they loyally prepared to charge her en masse. She stood there unmoving, her eyes still on Frankie:

“I don’t like that kinda talk around B.”

Frankie got to her feet:

“Talk ain’t all we’re gonna…”

Officer Jackson came strolling out of the shower room area, her nightstick already out:

“Hey, what’s going on out here?”

“Nothin’, Boss. Frankie just slipped, floor musta been wet.”

The guard never looked away from Frankie while Faith explained.

“Yeah? Well, get back to your cells and slip all you want to in there. I don’t need any shit, so gate time’s over for all of you. And knock off the red eye, Frankie. Nobody’s scared.”

Frankie and her gang left, but not before Frankie blew Buffy a kiss:

“See you soon, little pretty one.”

Faith started to leave too, but Officer Jackson held her nightstick out and blocked her way.

“You watch yourself, Lehane. Frankie’s a bitch with a lot of back-up and you don’t need to be gettin’ slammed either.”

Faith didn’t say a word and headed back to her cell. As Buffy passed, Officer Jackson cocked her head and mouthed:

“You okay?”

Buffy nodded discreetly with a smile and kept moving.

When she got there, Faith was already pacing. Buffy stepped inside and Officer Jackson gave the order for them to be locked down. As the cell door slid shut, she moved down the line to make sure Frankie and her gang were also locked in.

Faith continued moving, ignoring Buffy completely until Buffy touched her shoulder:

“Faith, I…”

She found herself slammed back against the bars, Faith’s hand around her neck:

“What are we playin’ at here, huh, B? I got better things to do than pretend you need my protection.”

“Really? Isn’t that what you do even when I’m not here? Protect everyone.”

Faith let her arm fold, her forearm pressing in hard against Buffy’s throat:

“Think I’m a hero, B? How ‘bout I snap your neck right here?”

“Go ahead, but you’d better hurry…The guard’s coming back.”

Faith applied more pressure, actually cutting off Buffy’s air:

“Would solve a lot of things…”

Buffy didn’t struggle at all and after a few seconds, Faith backed off.

“Just use your ‘Get Outta Jail Free’ card, Buffy. You don’t belong here, so stop fuckin’ with me.”

“I’m not fucking with you, Faith, you’re doing that all by yourself. I told you why I’m here and I told you what it’ll take to get me to leave. When and if that happens…well, that’s all up to you.”

*****

There had been just silence in their cell, but after about two hours had managed to crawl its way past, Faith suddenly sat up, her legs dangling in the air as she sat on the edge of her bunk looking out into the hall. Buffy had given up trying to read the tattered “Field and Stream” magazine she’d found in the tiny desk drawer about an hour and fifty-nine minutes ago, and she was relieved to see that something, anything, was finally going on.

She turned from the desk to face the door, then became suspicious when Faith jumped down with a big grin. Her happy smile held as Eddie appeared in front of their cell staring down at a clipboard.

Faith looked at Buffy all cocky and smug:

“Time for work, ‘Little Miss Superhero’. Try not to get yourself capped while I’m the fuck away from you.”

“Lehane! Summers! Time for kitchen duty.”

In almost any other situation, Faith’s reaction would have been comical.

“What? Eddie, no way does she pull kitchen duty! She’s fuckin’ new! She shouldn’t even have a job yet!”

Eddie barely glanced up:

“And yet her name’s right here.”

He held the clipboard up for Faith to see.

“That says you and her in the kitchen this week, yeah? I’m not seeing wrong, am I?”

Faith looked like she was going to blow a gasket.

“Yeah says that, but what the fuck is this? She’s a fuckin’ fish! How’s she rate a tour in the chow hall?”

Eddie looked bored:

“This gonna be one of your crazy days? ‘Cause I…”

“I don’t want her workin’ with me!”

She was yelling now and another guard walked over to see what the problem was. Faith raised her hands in a placating gesture and tried to look calm, but after a brief glance at her, the new man pulled his nightstick and turned to his co-worker:

“Trouble, Eddie?”

“Nah, we’re good here, right, Lehane?”

She struggled to speak calmly:

“…As gold.”

The other guard, Officer Cotton, didn’t look totally convinced, but he nodded and walked off. Eddie waited until he was out of earshot before he spoke:

“Stop all this bitchin’ and moanin’. I don’t make the assignments, I just carry’em out. ”

“Yeah but…”

He stepped closer to the bars.

“Look, I get it, alright? But this is from the top: you two are to stay together, 24/7. Nothin’ I can do about it.”

“And you don’t think that’s weird? Eddie…”

“I do think it’s weird, it’s weird as hell, but so’s a lotta shit in here. Look, I’m askin’ as a favor: just calm down and accept it. You can’t change anything and you’re workin’ your way to a beating and a trip to the Hole.”

Faith’s anger lessened slightly as she looked at him:

“You gonna be the one to bring it, Eddie?”

He laughed:

“If I gotta. Listen, you keep going like this, some of these new screws are gonna be happy to calm you down. Can’t we just skip all that?”

“But this is fuckin’ fucked up!”

“I hear ya.”

She stood still, but it was evident she was struggling with herself. Her hand slammed into the bars making them clang loudly:

“Fuck!”

He waited until she looked him in the eye.

“This gonna go good or do I gotta get backup?”

“…I’m alright. Got my word.”

He nodded and called out for the cell door to be opened, and the second it was she stomped out, leaving Eddie and Buffy alone. He stared after her for a minute before turning to Buffy:

“You don’t look like much. What’s this all about?”

“I can’t really get into it.”

“…But you’re trying to help her?”

Buffy nodded:

“I’m a little late, but yes I am.”

He smiled and gestured her outside:

“Never too late for that. She’s a good girl. Turned herself right around.”

“I know, I just need to make her see that too.”

He hollered down the line:

“Lock it up!”

The door slid shut and he ticked off their names on the clipboard.

“…Buffy?”

“Uh-huh?”

His dark eyes were filled with emotion as he looked at her:

“Girl saved my life, no reason at all. It’s not a fluke either, got plenty of stories like that about her from a lot of people in here. I don’t give two shits what she did before, she’s not like that now. You need back-up at some point? I’m your man.”

She smiled at him:

“I’ll make sure to remember that.”

“And watch your back in here.”

Chapter Three

The next week passed slowly, probably just like every week always passed in prison. Faith wouldn’t speak to her, not that Buffy was at all surprised. They were together all day and all night, each working in the same job at the same time, thanks to some creative and cooperative scheduling from the Warden. She was impressed at the influence Giles and Angel had, not that she fully understood who they knew and how, but she didn’t need to know. Her focus was on Faith.

She made “friends” with a couple of the girls, at least enough to do business with them, but she wasn’t really there to fit in. She was there to shake Faith up and to get her to see that there was no point to prison anymore. Faith didn’t seem at all eager or willing to face that fact.

Each night Faith paced when the darkness fell, but every time Buffy extended an offer to spar, she received no response at all. As the week wore on, Buffy too began feeling the strain of not patrolling. The pull had always been more intense whenever she was around Faith, and she knew her presence was having the same effect on her cell mate. Of course, Buffy hadn’t gone without slaying for three years and she knew Faith was actually hurting. She felt bad for her…so bad that she started using it to her advantage.

As Faith stalked back and forth in their cage, Buffy would talk about slaying relentlessly. She spoke about the specific kills she’d made, the fights Faith had missed. She described in great detail every step of the battle: her moves, their moves, what it felt like to run, to slam the stake home. She would go on and on about how she could sense the vampires lurking, how her body would feel totally alive, how the smells of the night drifted to her on the breeze, how the smallest noises in the darkness sounded loud in her ear, and how solid the smooth heft of the wood felt in her hand as the dust swirled all around her.

On the fifth night, Faith finally snapped. She yanked Buffy up roughly, her face contorted in a rage and her grip painfully tight on Buffy’s upper arms as she’d held her just inches away:

“Shut…the fuck…up.”

Buffy said nothing, her eyes staring into Faith’s until she was shoved away. Buffy sat back down and Faith leapt up into her own bunk, and that was it: four angry words, the sum total of Faith’s verbal communication with everyone for the entire week.

She merely nodded at Mary in the lunch line and moved along, and on the third day, Mary looked at Buffy accusingly after Faith walked off:

“You making her unhappy?”

“Yes, but I have a good reason.”

“You’re gonna get leeway ‘til she says otherwise, but you better straighten this out fast.”

Buffy smiled at the huge pork chop on her plate:

“I’m working on it, Mary. Honest.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

Buffy began looking forward to her mystical chats with Giles that occurred once a day if she could manage them. She had an arrangement with a friend of a friend of Juanita’s who had bathroom cleaning duties. She let Buffy head in alone while she loitered outside, pretending to mop while she stood point and kept everyone else out. Buffy gave her report while keeping an ear out for the warning:

“Six-five!”

That meant a guard was approaching and Buffy had to cut off the connection and head back out into the hall. She always made sure to use the facilities too while she was in there, and so far she’d managed to avoid doing anything humiliating in the cell.

Because she had no one else to really talk to, she tended to ramble on with Giles whenever they spoke. He would let her go for a couple of minutes before gently steering her back to the true reason for the calls.

“Yes, I can well imagine. So, how is Faith, Buffy?”

“She’s like a wall, Giles. A stone wall. A cement wall. A prison cement stone cell wall with three other walls and bars surrounding a filthy toilet sitting in the middle of those walls with no privacy whatsoever.”

“Buffy…”

“I mean, I don’t care what somebody’s done, a girl needs her privacy.”

“How do you think you’re managing?”

“Well, Juanita told me to try and time my…ah…needs, so that anything besides peeing, I make sure I use the community…”

“Buffy, your toilet concerns aside, do you…”

“It’s just lucky she knew somebody, but they’re still standing right outside which is kinda weird in and of itself. I mean, I don’t get how anyone ever manages to…”

“Buffy! Would you please report on the mission?”

She was obviously embarrassed:

“Sorry, but it’s just so degrading and…Okay, the mission report: I’ve got nothing. She won’t talk to me and I’d say she’s this close to punching my face in. She’s totally shut down and the couple of people she’s close with in here, she’s not speaking to them either.”

“That’s to be expected. She’s not stupid, she knows exactly why you’re there and she’s determined to outlast you until you get tired of trying and leave.”

“Fat chance of that happening.”

She could practically see him, his glasses in his hand, his gaze focused on nothing:

“Well, you’re our man on site, what do you surmise our next move should be?”

“Woman on site, and I surmise I should start pushing her more.”

“Yes, perhaps a gentle nudge would be just the…”

“Giles, Faith won’t even feel a ‘gentle’ nudge, I have my doubts if she’ll feel anything except a major headfirst shove into the wall.”

He cleared his throat and she knew he was now cleaning his glasses as he thought it through.

“Yes, I suppose that’s probably an accurate assessment. All right, do whatever you feel is necessary and…Hold on, Willow wishes to speak with you.”

There was a bit of static and then Willow’s voice was audible:

“Buffy?”

“Hey, Will.”

“Hi! How’s it going? Got any Big Berthas after you?”

“Just about ten. It’s so crazy in here.”

“Pardon me girls, but…”

Willow cut him off:

“What about the shower, Buff?”

“Oh my God, my first time there…I dropped the soap!”

“No you didn’t!”

“I did, right on the floor. Talk about a nightmare.”

“Goddess, so what’s worse then: the shower or the bathroom?”

“Hmm…I guess the bathroom because there’s just no privacy no matter…”

“Oh for God’s sake, we don’t have time for this idle banter!”

“Well sorry, Giles, but having a bathroom naked in the...”

“Buffy, please.”

Willow got them back on track:

“So Buff, we aren’t going to be able to contact each other for the next few days.”

“How come?”

“The spell’s going wonky, so wonky I have to start over from the beginning.”

“Yep, I’d say that’s pretty wonky, all right.”

“I know, I think one of the ingredients I used was older than it was supposed to be. Anyway, if you have to reach us, you’re going to need to use a regular phone.”

Buffy wasn’t happy with the news, but it didn’t seem so dire either:

“Okay, so no semi-instant magical connection to my posse. I should be able to make it alone for a few of days…Oh God, did I just so totally jinx myself or what?”

“Completely.”

“Buffy, Giles here.”

“Really? I thought it was still Will, you guys sound so much alike.”

“Our time is growing short.”

“And so’s your temper. It’s like you’re the one in the Pen.”

He sighed:

“I just want to be sure you remember to reach out to your contact should you need an emergency extraction.”

“No problem there, Officer Jackson and I are best buddies. We’ve already exchanged the secret handshake and everything.”

“All joking aside, do not hesitate to ask for her assistance. If worst comes to worst, we can always find another way to help Faith.”

Buffy smiled at the concern in his voice:

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine and so will Faith.”

“I have nothing but absolute confidence in your ability to get the job done, but please be careful, Buffy. It’s quite dangerous, what you’re doing, and whilst I understand your eagerness to help Faith…”

“You don’t want me to become a hardened con?”

“It’s not an easy situation to navigate and when you begin pushing her…”

“Giles, we went over all of this already. I have to do this and you know all of the reasons why. I’ll be as careful as I can be, and even though she’s not happy with me right now, Faith has my back.”

“And I’m glad to hear that, but…just be careful, yes?”

“I will be, I promise. Speaking of being careful, how’s it going there? Is Angel keeping an eye on the Hellmouth?”

“It’s going fairly well, although he’s rather difficult to work with. It seems he doesn’t like to take direction, and of course that’s terribly jarring after years of working with you.”

Buffy’s voice was bright with excitement:

“So he’s making me look a lot better? See? Buffy’s not so bad when it comes right down to it. In fact, I’ll bet you wish…”

“Buffy, you’d do well to recognize sarcasm when you hear it. All’s fine here, and it’s quite a refreshing change of pace to actually make suggestions that have a chance of being followed.”

“Hey, that’s just mean! I am in jail, you know. A little appreciation from the outside world is mandatory.”

She heard the laughter in his voice:

“Yes, all right. We’re missing you dreadfully, and although Angel’s performing admirably and we’re all doing whatever we can to assist him, he’s simply not you. We’re counting the minutes until you return.”

“There, now was that so hard? A Slayer just wants to know she’s appreciated.”

“Which you most definitely are. Right then, we shall let you know when communication is available again. The device we implanted into your shoulder will continue to work, the problem’s all on our end.”

“Good because there’s no way we can get contact to put in another one. Well, not unless we meet in what they call the ‘bone yard’ and I am so not doing that with either of you.”

Willow’s voice chirped up all excited:

“The ‘bone yard’? What’s that?”

“You know, where the prisoners meet their partners for um…you know.”

“For…Oh! No, no meeting there, not ever!”

Buffy could practically hear her blushing.

“As I said, there’s blessedly no need to even consider that. Buffy, remember to trust your instincts when it comes to Faith. You know her best, so follow your own lead.”

“Got it. I’ll talk to you guys whenever. “

“Yes, we’ll alert Officer Jackson when we’ve got the system up and running again.”

“Okay. Oh and can you put some money in my account? I need it for cigarettes and chocolate. And maybe some magazines.”

“I’ll take care of that right now.”

“Thanks. See you guys later.”

“Be careful, Buffy.”

“Slayer promise, Giles.”

“Buff, I forgot: Xander says to say h…”

The connection severed and Buffy felt totally alone. She exited the blocked off bathroom, scooting around the yellow “Caution: Wet Floor” sign and the water bucket. She handed ten cigarettes to the woman still mopping the floor:

“Thanks.”

“Sure. Same time tomorrow, Buffy?”

“Uh, no…wait.Yes, just not for as long.”

The woman carefully placed the cigarettes in her shirt pocket, then began mopping for real.

“Still gonna need ten smokes if you wanna lay claim to this time and spot. You wanna cut down on the time, I can cut the payment in half.”

Buffy shook her head:

“No, let’s just keep it for the same length of time.”

“That’s good for me.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, not like we’re goin’ anywhere.”

*****

The Big Yard wasn’t much of a yard, not unless you were stuck inside for most of the day every day. If that was your predicament, then it was a palatial English garden with lush concrete, blooming basketball hoops, and delicate workout equipment called the “iron pile”, all surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire. The guards strolled along the grounds, as well as patrolling above the scene with high powered rifles, as they sought to ensure the serene calm of the setting.

It was awful, and yet Buffy looked forward to going there every day. No matter how depressing everything else was, the sun was out there as well as the clean air. The white clouds were drifting by, the birds were singing, and for one glorious hour a day, Buffy could feel the California heat on her skin and imagine she was anywhere else besides where she was.

She smiled as she cleared the doorway and walked outside. The guard posted there was Eddie, and Buffy nodded at him. He smiled at her, then after Faith entered the yard, he closed the door and spoke into the phone:

“Everybody out and accounted for.”

Faith was already starting her workout, beginning with chin-ups on the suddenly cleared bars. The other inmates, who’d been doing the very same thing just moments before, had jumped down without a word and gone to find something else to do. They were unwilling to cross Faith in the best of times, let alone when she was in a foul mood like she’d been for the past week, and so the area around Prisoner 430019 kept clearing out wherever she went. There was no one who dared to invade her space.

Buffy lifted her head towards the sun and breathed in deep. It was beautiful out, perfect “picnic at the beach” weather. She gave herself a couple of minutes, then sighed and opened her eyes. Anyone who knew her would know what the expression on her face meant: The Slayer was on the clock and she wasn’t going to be stopped.

She wasn’t looking forward to what was about to happen, but then she wasn’t looking forward to staying in a hellhole any longer than she had to either. She wasn’t sure how long the guards could let it go, but Sheila Jackson had assured her that she’d have at least a few minutes. She was going to have to make them count.

Buffy headed over to the workout bar and jumped up, grabbing on and doing her own chin-ups side by side with Faith. They worked in silence as they instinctively began rising and falling in tandem. Synchronized chin-ups, Slayer style.

Buffy gave it a minute then plowed ahead:

“So Faith, have you always been such a coward or is this just a prison thing?”

There was no response except for a slight faltering in the rhythm.

“What, you’re so gutless now you’re not even going to speak?”

Still nothing. Faith did ten more chin-ups, then dropped to the ground. She began walking off and was forced to stop abruptly as Buffy’s spinning dismount landed her smack dab in the middle of Faith’s path.

“Where you going?”

Faith’s eyes met Buffy’s then, her anger obvious as she stood glaring. Her voice emerged low and threatening:

“Get outta my way, B.”

“Or what?”

Faith stepped to the side and Buffy matched her. Faith tried the other side, but Buffy was there as well.

“Don’t do this, not out here.”

“Why? Because you’ve got a rep? Well guess what, F? I don’t care about your precious rep.”

And then Buffy shoved her to the ground.

There was an audible gasp from the inmates who’d seen it go down, and a few peeled off to spread the news that the new girl was crazy and about to die.

“It feels nice in here, doesn’t it, Faith? You’re the big fish in the little pond, not just the second rate Slayer anymore. In here you’re all safe and…”

Faith flipped to her feet:

“Yeah, that’s prison…safe as kittens. Think what ya want, I don’t give a fuck.”

She turned to walk away and Buffy shoved her from behind. This time Faith sailed face first along the dirt and grass.

Officer Jackson and Eddie hadn’t made a move toward them, and the other guards were busy watching their own sections. Without a report from the guards, the snipers were focused on the usual trouble spots, and those were usually nowhere near Jackson and Rhodes, the two best liked guards in the place. They had the records and the seniority, so they got the better behaved prisoners, and no one was expecting any trouble in their section. Buffy was exploiting that loophole for all it was worth.

Faith got up slowly, a small smudge of dirt on her chin, her eyes promising death to the woman standing in front of her.

“Don’t know what you think you’re playin’ at, but…”

“I’m not playing, Faith. I’m wondering where you are.”

The prison yard was alive with a contained excitement. Several inmates had drifted over casually, inserting themselves between the guards and the soon to be rumbling girls. They wanted the fight to go on as long as possible, so creating a body filled route was the best way to drag things out. It slowed the guards down at least a couple of minutes, and in a prison fight those minutes could be like an eternity. The inmates moved like a well-oiled machine to get into position.

“I’m right here, right where you fucking wanted me.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault, is it?”

Faith took a step closer, her words barely escaping through clenched teeth:

“We both know whose fault it is. But I’m here doin’ my fuckin’ time, so fucking leave me alone!”

“And just how much time do you need to do, Faith?”

“Sentence is twenty-five to life.”

“You’ve already served plenty of time. You could get out of here if you…”

Faith moved right up in Buffy’s face:

“We’re done with this talk, Blondie.”

“We haven’t even started yet.”

“I’m walkin’ away and I don’t wanna be touched.”

Faith turned and before she’d taken two steps, Buffy had hold of her. Faith whirled and broke free from Buffy’s grasp, and the punch she threw although fully expected, hurt like hell. Buffy staggered back like a drunk trying to get her balance, her jaw aching.

Before she could square herself, Faith was on her. She hit her three more times before Buffy could retaliate. She went down and pulled Faith with her as she used her legs to toss Faith over and away from her. Faith rolled with the momentum and was on her feet, already moving in.

They stood toe to toe, exchanging punches that had the other inmates yelling with excitement. Buffy connected painfully with Faith’s cheek and the blood sprayed out, dribbling down her chin to the grass below. Faith feinted with her left and followed with a right hook to Buffy’s lip, then kicked her hard in the ribs.

Buffy bent over with the blow and Faith moved in, only to be met by Buffy’s elbow between her own ribs. It hurt, but Faith kept coming and she tackled Buffy and knocked them both back to the ground. She was on top and she struck Buffy twice before she felt Buffy’s legs wrapping around her neck and pulling her to the ground. Buffy used the leverage to roll her way on top.

Whistles were blowing and the guards were struggling to get through the thick mass of inmates who were intent on keeping them out. Faith head butted Buffy, knocking her backwards with the impact, but Buffy kept going into a reverse somersault and ended up standing. She kicked Faith in the shoulder, then punched her hard, jumping and putting everything she had into the strike.

Faith shifted just enough to miss most of the power in the blow, but she caught enough of it along her injured cheek to make her stumble and fall to her knee. She shook her head to clear it and stood up only to see Eddie, Officer Jackson and about ten other guards rushing their way. Normally she’d have gotten down on the ground and locked her hands behind her head, but she still wanted to hit Buffy.

The Head Slayer was standing there ready: her hair messed up, her face flushed and slightly sweaty, her breathing heavy with her shirt partially ripped open. Her eyes were beautiful, sparkling with anger and excitement and something else that Faith couldn’t identify.

She was wearing her usual confident and annoyingly self-righteous expression, and its appearance made Faith want to punch it right off her perfect, beautiful face…right after she kissed the living shit out of her.

Faith stood there with the guards coming, undecided what to do in her last moments of freedom, when Buffy decided it for her. Her eyes were amused; it was obvious she knew what Faith was thinking as she stepped closer:

“Either one works for me…”

And then one hand grabbed onto Faith’s arm and the other went behind her head, pulling her close and smashing their lips together.

Faith was surprised, totally and completely, yet she was kissing Buffy back the instant their lips met. Her arms went around Buffy, yanking her flush against her as her lips and tongue explored every inch they could reach. The yelling from the other inmates intensified, all complete with hoots and hollers and appreciative whistling, and yet neither girl was really hearing it.

And then the guards were on them, pulling them apart and hauling them off to solitary. They lost sight of each other, but the last thing Faith heard was Buffy’s calm voice:

“…but that’s the one I prefer, F.”

Chapter Four

Buffy wasn’t surprised by anything in solitary confinement. The Hole was just as advertised in every prison movie and TV show she’d ever seen. It was dark, stinky and unpleasant, and the opening in the floor that seemed to be the facilities…well, at least she had all the privacy she’d been craving.

She was sitting on an uncomfortable metal bed with the thinnest mattress she’d ever felt, nursing her wounds from the fight with the bottom of her shirt. Her lip hurt: of course slamming it against Faith’s hadn’t been the smartest idea recovery wise, but she didn’t regret that and it wasn’t the worst of her pain anyway. Her ribs were killing her and so was her jaw where Faith had struck the first blow.

Still, there was nothing too serious and she knew she’d heal up for the most part by the morning. She was worried about whether or not she’d dislocated Faith’s shoulder, but if she had, Faith would have snapped it back into place by now. She hadn’t felt it give way completely, but it was Faith’s weak spot, which was of course why Buffy had gone for it. She knew there’d been some sort of commotion with the guards and it definitely wasn’t going to take much to dislocate it, not after the powerful kick she’d delivered.

She ran her fingertips gently over her lips, not because of the cut but because she could still feel Faith there, could still taste her. The sensation of Faith pulling her tight against her body, the thrill of her tongue caressing everywhere inside of Buffy’s mouth, the mingling of their breath and the white hot passion that had flared up so intensely between them, all of it had Buffy in a happy glow while she sat alone in the pungent darkness.

They hadn’t shared one dream since Buffy had been in prison or in the month leading up to her jail term, and she missed them, missed Faith. The feel of her, the taste of her, the moans and sighs, and most of all the little noise she always made when she came. Buffy wanted it, wanted Faith, and one passionate kiss in the prison yard in front of a bunch of other inmates while the guards rushed them…Well, yes, it had been hot, very hot, way hotter than any dream, but Buffy wanted more. Much, much more.

Her thoughts were pulled back to her current situation as a voice came through the small slot used for passing meal trays:

“Buffy.”

“Officer Jackson?”

“Call me Sheila. Are you okay? Do you need any medical treatment?”

“No, not really.”

Officer Jackson paused before she spoke again, her voice lowered almost to a whisper:

“I know you’ll be okay, but it’s still gotta hurt. Here.”

A large icepack slid awkwardly onto the floor and Buffy gratefully retrieved it.

“Thanks. I think Faith sort of cracked my ribs.”

A roll of gauze followed by a roll of tape came through next.

“I saw. I don’t know if you’re too hurt to wrap them yourself, but…”

“No, I can do it. Thank you, this will help a lot.”

“I’ll try and swing back in a couple of hours with more ice, but my shift ends in four.”

“I’ll be okay. Is Faith all right?”

“About like you, I think. Officer Rhodes is checking on her. Some of the guards tried to let her have it.”

There was a noise nearby and Sheila Jackson went quiet. A minute passed before she spoke again.

“I need to get out of here. I just wanted to be sure you were okay.”

“Besides the smell, the darkness, the metal bed, and the aches and pains, I’m peachy with a huge side of keen.”

Sheila laughed:

“Oh yeah, they definitely broke the Slayer mold when they made you.”

“Hmm…so much for my secret identity.”

“My dad was friends with Mr. Giles. He always said he was a good man.”

“The best.”

“I believe it. Okay, I’ll definitely be back before my shift ends. I’ll take what’s left of the tape and gauze then, or you can just toss them into the john. It doesn’t get emptied regularly, so it’ll get lost in the…Let’s just say no one will find it.”

Buffy’s nose wrinkled:

“I totally believe you about the ‘no emptying’ thing. Is that part of the punishment?”

“Probably.”

“Great. I’ll see you later then, and thank you.”

“No reason to thank me, Buffy. It’s an honor to help the Slayer. Both of them.”

*****

Faith’s shoulder hurt a lot less now that she’d snapped it back into place. Buffy was so quick and strong and she was such a bitch, always hitting her opponent in their weakest spot. That thought made Faith smile: Buffy was the best Slayer ever and she loved that about her, how she could beat the holy hell out of anybody and everything.

When Angel used to visit, they’d sometimes talk about Buffy, how she’d even bested Angelus when it came right down to it. Angel felt the same sense of pride in her abilities that Faith did. It was her toughness, her skill, her intelligence and her very “Buffyness” that made her so formidable. She was a force to be reckoned with, and she’d made a pair of major fuck-ups believe in the possibility of redemption, not an easy task at all.

Faith’s cheek was killing her too. If she hadn’t managed to dodge as much as she did, she’d have been seeing her lucky stars instead of just counting them. She grinned as she thought back to how Buffy had put everything into the punch, actually leaving her feet as she’d delivered the blow. Buffy was a total badass and Faith loved it.

She was feeling around her jaw, but then her fingers began delicately tracing along her mouth. She could still feel the pressure of Buffy Fucking Summers’ lips right there, could still taste and feel her tongue dancing with her own, her soft breath fluttering over and into her.

Her hand trembled as she closed her eyes, willing herself to remember every nanosecond of the kiss. The way Buffy had dragged her close and smashed their lips together, the way she’d moaned into Faith’s mouth the moment Faith kissed her back, the way her hands tightened in Faith’s hair when Faith forcefully pulled her even closer…

“Fuck!”

She stood up and then sat back down gingerly, feeling slightly dizzy from the blows she’d taken from the guards.

It was her own fault, she knew better, but when Buffy had said:

“…but that’s the one I prefer, F.”

Faith had stood frozen in place, her brain turned to mush as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened and what she had just heard.

She didn’t notice the guards ordering her to keep moving and after a few seconds, one of the new men decided to make a name for himself as a tough guy. His baton crashed hard against the back of her head, but she didn’t go down. She turned to face him instead, breaking the secure grasp of the two guards holding her and scaring the shit out of everyone except Eddie.

Another guard swung at her head, but her quick spin made the blow a lot less than accurate, and the stick hit her hard right in her tender shoulder. The popping noise was audible and she staggered, almost falling. They jerked her along to the Hole using that arm, making her moan with pain every step of the way as they got in a few random baton strikes.

As they reached their destination and prepared to go at her full force, Eddie managed to cut in. He grabbed her by the other arm and tossed her into the dark room, slamming and locking the door in nearly one motion and effectively stopping the attack before it could get going.

“Good one, guys. We got her all locked up. Thanks for the help.”

There wasn’t much they could do about it. He’d smoothly outplayed them and they headed back to their various stations grumbling about what a bitch 430019 was. When they were gone, Eddie tilted down the food tray flap:

“Faith, you all right?”

“..Yeah…shoulder’s…Hang on…”

He heard the noise and her muffled scream, and he winced for her. It took another few seconds, but then she was talking normally:

“I’m good. Head’s ringin’ a little, but mostly okay.”

“Sorry about that. Morrison’s an asshole.”

“Not your fault, I shoulda kept movin’.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to you throwin’ me in here so fast. Appreciate it, Eddie.”

He shook his head even though she couldn’t see it.

“Least I could do. I’ll see if I can slip you some ice. Guy on duty here owes me one.”

“Fuck, don’t use it up on me.”

“Shut up, Lehane. There’s nobody better to use it on.”

She was glad he couldn’t see her because that made her tear up. The guy actually liked her and thought she was somebody worth something.

“Up to you. B okay?”

“‘Buffy’ ya mean? Think so. She was just going along, didn’t stop to sightsee like you did.”

She laughed:

“Yeah, well you know me, like to grab life by the balls and all.”

“Well Morrison’s sure hightailed it when you turned around to face him. That boy completely shit himself.”

“Yeah, think I’m still catchin’ a whiff in here.”

“Nice, ain’t it? The water working?”

She reached over and turned it on, watching it barely dribble out.

“’Bout as well as last time.”

“I’ll see what I can get ya.”

“Can ya get B somethin’ too?”

“Think Jackson’s got her covered, but I’ll make sure.”

“Thanks, Eddie.”

He got ready to go, then decided to just say it:

“No clue what’s going on here, but that little white girl? She kicked your ass, all kindsa ways.”

“Trust me, nothin’ new there, Boss.”

“Better shape up, Lehane. A woman like that…well, takes a real woman to keep her.”

And then he was gone and Faith’s fingers were back at her lips.

“Fuck.”

****

She smiled when she saw where she was and that the gorgeous woman was sitting on the bed waiting for her.

Faith got to her feet almost instantly, her expression shy.

“Hi. Wasn’t doin’ a come on or anything, just killin’ time ‘til you got here.”

Buffy smiled:

“I wouldn’t mind a ‘come on’.”

“Yeah, but we gotta talk.”

The sun was shining through the window and the sheers under the curtain were billowing gently. Buffy walked closer, her hand reaching for Faith’s and pulling her towards her.

“B…”

“I think talking’s way overrated, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but in this case…”

Buffy kissed her and Faith gave in.

“Mmm…God, I’ve missed this, F.”

“Me too.”

Buffy kissed her again and then pulled back smiling:

“Although real life? So, so much better.”

“B…”

Buffy sighed at her serious expression.

“Okay, but just so you know, we’re not having our big talk here.”

Faith walked over to look out the window.

“Jesus B, what do you want from me?”

“I want you. In my dreams, in my life, in my town, in my bed.”

She didn’t respond, her body held stiff and still, her eyes riveted to the view outside.

“It doesn’t have to be like this, Faith. How long have we been together now?”

“Want the info in months, days or minutes?”

Buffy walked up behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist and nuzzling into her, her lips lightly kissing along Faith’s neck up to her ear.

“Just the fact that you know the numbers tells me everything I need to know.”

“I’m not leavin’ prison, B.”

“Not ever? Why? How does that make any sense?”

“...”

“I won’t let it happen, Faith.”

“That part’s not up to you.”

“Maybe not, but I still won’t let you stay there forever.”

“25 to life. I deserve it.”

“Why? What happened?”

Buffy looked at the clock, the numbers spinning faster and faster as the light changed to darkness. The air was cold as it flowed into the room, and outside the window she saw again all of the horrible things Faith had done, every ugly moment of their history playing out on what seemed to be an endless loop.

“Stop it. We’re not there anymore.”

“Maybe not, but could be any second.”

Buffy hugged her tighter and whispered into her ear:

“You’re not going to scare me off.”

The light came back and a warm breeze blew through the window, a window that showed nothing but the peaceful view again.

“What do you want, Faith?”

“…Wanna be strong enough to let you go, to not make you come here.”

“You don’t ‘make’ me come here, I want to be here. There’s nothing you can do to stop that, you can’t change how I feel.”

Faith spun to face her:

“I didn’t get it was real, B. I woulda never done all this if I’d known you were really here.”

“Well, it’s too late to go back and besides, I don’t want to anyway.”

Faith turned to the window again, looking out but not really seeing anything.

“You say that, but…B, you don’t know.”

“No, I don’t, but you’re going to tell me when we’re back in our cell.”

“Not gonna happen, so just go home.”

Buffy felt Faith’s pain and decided to drop it. They had a moment to themselves, a stolen moment between two Slayers, and she wanted to make the most of it.

“Let’s forget all of that for now and focus on the fact that I’m here, you’re here, the bed’s right there and isn’t it crazy how fighting just always makes you horny and horny?”

Faith couldn’t stop her smile:

“That’s not the saying, B.”

“I made a wicked change to fit the sitch, F.”

Her hands slid down Faith’s body, stopping to explore all of the interesting spots that always made Faith moan and throw her head back to rest on Buffy’s shoulder.

“Fuck, B.”

“Let’s start with ‘Fuck F’, and see where that takes us.”

“Faith!”

“Ignore him.”

Buffy’s hands had gone lower and Faith felt her legs weaken.

“Faith!!”

She woke up with a start:

“Shit! Sorry, Eddie, I kinda nodded off.”

“You oughta stay awake, case you got a concussion. Here.”

An icepack slipped through the slot, then two plastic bottles of orange Gatorade were squeezed through sideways.

“Got a couple for your girl too.”

“Thanks.”

She stood on shaky legs, although whether they were caused by the dream or the beating, she wasn’t quite sure.

“Listen, I gotta go, but word is you’re only spending the night in here. Probably gonna be locked down in your cell for a few, but at least you’ll be outta here.”

“Glad to hear it. Thanks for the extras.”

“No problem. Stay awake for a couple more hours, promise?”

She didn’t want to, but she wasn’t about to deny him a thing.

“Promise.”

“Okay, good. I’m gonna run these over to your ass kickin’ girlfriend. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah. Thanks again for the help, Eddie.”

“Always, Crazy Girl.”

****

Buffy wasn’t happy in solitary, but then maybe a little apart time wasn’t the worst thing ever. After Eddie’s Gatorade delivery and assurance that Faith was fine, she’d slept again for a few hours and now felt much better. There’d been no more Slayer dreams beyond the one they’d already shared, and that was okay with her. She hadn’t expected Faith to come back and besides, the time for dreaming was over. It was time to bring everything out into the real world.

Buffy stretched carefully, pleased to discover that her ribs were feeling almost normal again. Fighting Faith was always so intense and just like everything else they did together, there was nothing halfway about it. Faith was full of passion no matter what, and it was one of the things Buffy loved best about her. She laughed again, admitting to herself that “love” was exactly the right word when it came to describing her feelings for Faith.

Things had changed dramatically after Buffy had returned to the land of the living. It turned out that being ripped from Heaven wasn’t the easiest thing to deal with, and she’d ended up going through what the poets would have called her “dark night of the soul”…and the less said about her sexual relationship with Spike, the better.

It had definitely been slow going, but Buffy had finally managed to regain her footing. One of the biggest reasons for that was her fellow Slayer, and she smiled as she thought back to when it had all started, just months after Faith had been imprisoned.

The dreams in the beginning were always the same. Faith would show up silent and sad, pleading wordlessly for Buffy’s forgiveness and she never once got it. There was only contempt and anger glaring out at her from hazel eyes and the dreams would always end as abruptly as they had begun.

Angel sent regular progress reports, but Buffy never read them. She refused to speak about Faith, refused to care about her, and that was that. Slate wiped clean, door firmly locked, heart and mind completely closed.

But sometimes at night, her brain would betray her. Faith would return, still sad, still sorry, and still reaching out to an unrelenting Buffy. That became their pattern and it went on for a long time until Buffy finally convinced herself that she couldn’t really be having Slayer dreams. The Faith that came to her when she slept had never existed and never would.

It had always been just a sick game to Faith, one that she had played like a master, and Buffy believed her current incarceration was merely just the latest move in the same old: “Let’s Take Everything Buffy Has” challenge.. Angel and Giles could buy into her lies if they wanted to, but Buffy was all done being Faith’s fool.

And then there was no more time to not think about Faith. Buffy had a Hell god to deal with, a sister to protect, a mother to lose, and the literal weight of the world on her shoulders…again. Only this time it was the end of the line, and Buffy had to pay with her life.

She knew it wasn’t her ordained time to die, but Buffy Summers hadn’t cared about the rules from Day One and she sure as hell didn’t care about them on her last day either.

She had always followed her heart and she was more than okay with where it had led her. She had a choice to make and she chose to do the only thing she could live with: Buffy jumped to her death.

She hit the white energy and felt more pain surging through her than she’d ever imagined it was possible to feel. Her very being was stripped down to its essence and Buffy would have screamed if she could have gotten the noise out. After an eternity, the pain subsided. She was dead, she knew, and then she felt it – her last link to the world.

Her fellow Slayer’s anguish came blasting through their bond and Buffy felt every ounce of grief that Faith did at that moment…and she knew. She went to her eternal rest finally understanding just how much Faith had loved her.  And then all went quiet and peaceful, and Buffy was gone.

No new Slayer arose, the Slayer line ran through Faith. It wasn’t exactly an ideal situation for the world to have its only Slayer locked up, and Angel and Giles began setting the wheels in motion to get her released. Faith was hesitant at first, afraid that she would relapse into the person she used to be, but for only the second time in her life, she was determined to do the right thing.

And then Buffy was back, somewhat less than before, but still the hero of the story. Faith was deliriously happy, but she was scared too and hoping that when she did finally manage to get out, The Slayer would accept her help.

It took months before the fog cleared, but when it did, Buffy found her thoughts turning to Faith. She had no idea why exactly, but she felt a distinct softening towards her fellow Slayer, and this time it was Buffy who reached out.

The dreams were awkward and confusing at first, everything couched in symbols and riddles designed to hide their true feelings from one another. Gradually they became more comfortable and starting with Faith’s apology that Buffy accepted, they began communicating more normally. She didn’t forgive Faith, not then, not yet, but over time Buffy discovered that Faith really had changed.

Her demons were held firmly at bay, and the person who was left standing in their wake was willing to fight for redemption, even though she believed she’d never get it. This was Buffy’s slaying partner, her comrade, and she found herself liking and admiring Faith more each time they met.

Faith’s lawyer was confident that he could get her sentence dramatically reduced, if not outright overturned. A distinct lack of evidence, Faith’s mental state at the time of her confession, her inadequate legal representation, and her exemplary behavior as a prisoner all pointed to an early release. Buffy was excited at the prospect of having her back, and when they met up that night, she couldn’t stop talking about it.

Everything seemed normal, but then the dream quickly turned into something else, all courtesy of Faith. Buffy had been standing by the window chattering across the room to a smiling Faith, and the next second Faith was right next to her invading her personal space.

“Faith, I …”

“So, B, what’s it s’posed to mean?”

“What?”

“Better gimme the skinny, ‘cause I just see one thing.”

“Wh…What are you doing?”

“Nothin’ you don’t want me to."

She moved even closer, her lips stopping just short of Buffy’s, her hand trailing down until it was poised right above Buffy’s breast…

Buffy woke up.

She avoided seeing Faith for an entire week, but by the end of her self-imposed heavy thinking session, she had her answer: she was sexually attracted to Faith and always had been. It was so easy for her to see how the desire had been spiraling out between them since they’d met, and it explained so many things…maybe even all things.

To her great surprise, Buffy was fine with the knowledge that she wanted another woman. It was Faith after all, who wouldn’t want her? She was the sexiest person ever born, and Buffy suspected that even when she was on her deathbed, she’d still think that Faith was…

And then Buffy remembered.

The pain Faith had felt at her death, the love she had for Buffy, all of it reaching out to her through their Slayer connection as she left the world. Faith was in love with her. Totally, completely, and without any doubt whatsoever, and Buffy was fine with it.

Just like that, something was finally settled within her, something that had been stirring since the moment long ago when a strong, warm hand had taken the stake from her own:

“Thanks, B. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

When they met again, Faith was sprawled out on her bed, clearly naked under Buffy’s familiar beige blanket.

“So what took ya so long, B?”

The question was asked with Faith’s trademark cockiness, but Buffy could feel her uncertainty.

“Oh, you know me, F. I had to think things through.”

Faith’s eyes were devouring her with more hunger than Buffy had ever seen before, yet all it did was make her even more comfortable as she began stripping.

“…Yeah, Angel’s like that too. Gotta think everything through. Not me though, I just go with what I feel.”

“I know. ‘Want, take, have’ has never seemed so perfect.”

Faith held the blanket up and Buffy slid underneath like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“You’re going to have to teach me what to do, Faith.”

The cockiness was gone, leaving nothing except her true feelings on display. The back of her hand brushed tenderly along Buffy’s cheek and her eyes filled with tears:

“Just touch me, please Buffy…Just love me.”

And that was the start of their affair.

It was strange, there was no doubt about that, but “strange” had stopped bothering Buffy a long time ago. She just went with it, loving the incredible sex and intimacy that Faith gave her. She held nothing back and Buffy stayed with her, stride for stride, as she eagerly awaited the day when they could be together in the real world.

A few months into it, she sensed something was wrong. The sex was still passionate, still great, but Faith herself seemed to be moving away.

“No big, B. Probably somethin’ you ate.”

It was too easy in dreams, and Faith was exceptionally skilled at calling up distraction after distraction. In their last dream, they made love, Faith kissed her and then stood up, already fully clothed.

“Faith, what are you…”

“Fuck, I’m gonna miss this so much.”

“What? When? Why?”

“Wish it was real, but fuck it, I’m gonna thank ya anyways. These dreams were all I had left, but I can’t even do this to ‘Dream Buffy’ anymore.”

“’Dream Buffy’? Faith, I’m not…”

“I love you so much, B, I’m glad you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you. What are you talking…”

And then she was gone.

Their connection was shut down, and no matter how much Buffy tried, she couldn’t get it open again. Faith was gone and that was that. All of Buffy’s requests to visit came back stamped: “Rejected…Prisoner declined.”

She turned to Giles and Angel, confessing everything, explaining what she could and trusting they’d accept what she could not. Faith had apparently never understood that they were having Slayer dreams, really and truly meeting in each other’s minds, and that what had gone on, had gone on for both of them. Angel called in some markers and tried to force Faith to see them, but Faith fought the guards like never before and had ended up in solitary for two weeks.

They had no clue what to do until Buffy came up with the idea of becoming a prisoner herself. She enlisted the help of the whole gang, promising Giles that when she got back, she’d tell him everything about her Slayer dreams…even the embarrassing parts. He’d been so excited about the “unprecedented events”, Buffy was just dreading the day she’d have to....

Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and a guard she’d never seen before gesturing her forward.

“Let’s go, Mighty Mouse. You’re outta here.”

She walked out, squinting at the bright lights in the hallway. Two other guards handcuffed her and one grabbed her roughly by the elbow.

“Come on, you’re going back to your cell. You’re gonna be locked down, got no clue how long, so don’t ask. Screws on the block’ll know, so just keep your mouth shut ‘til we get there.”

Buffy didn’t even bother to look at him, her mind already racing.

She was going to be locked down in the cell with Faith. There’d be no way for her to get away from Buffy, no chance for her to avoid whatever it was she kept running from. All Buffy had to do was get Faith to talk to her and she could think of all kinds of ways to make that happen.

The guard’s grip suddenly tightened on her arm:

“What the fuck are you smilin’ at? You nuts or somethin’?”

“I guess that depends on how you look at it.”

He shook his head as she kept grinning.

“Gettin’ stuck in your cell for who knows how long and you’re fuckin’ smilin’. Fuckin’ weirdo.”

Chapter Five

Faith had made her decision. She’d thought about it all night long and there was no way she was heading back to her cell to be locked down with Buffy. She had heard the promise and the threat: they were going to talk and get to the bottom of things when they got back to the cell, and Faith wanted no part of it. She didn’t want to talk to Buffy about anything, she didn’t want to “solve” the problem. She just wanted to be left alone and she was going to be.

She’d figured out that Buffy had the Warden completely in her pocket. Nothing else explained how two inmates tossed into the Hole for beating the hell out of each other, were now being released back to their shared cell the very next day. Not only was that not the standard protocol, it didn’t even make the slightest bit of sense safety wise. They hadn’t just had a scuffle or a chick fight, they’d had a full-on Slayer brawl and it was obvious they needed to be separated.

Fine. Faith had known the deck was stacked the second she saw Buffy walking into her cell, and now she knew for sure it wasn’t just the deck, it was the whole casino that was rigged. It didn’t matter, she was smart and if they wanted to play games, she’d play right along with them…only the game she’d be playing would be one of her own choosing.

She was going to attack the guards when they opened the door. She felt bad about it, but she was going to have to really rough them up. If she did it good enough and took two or three of them down hard, that would earn her a month, maybe two in solitary. That should seal the deal and send Buffy on her way back home.

The noise of the door unlocking had her springing up and Faith went into action…only to stop. There was just one guard standing there: Eddie. She had no clue what was going on, Eddie didn’t work anywhere near the Hole.

“What’s this?”

“Come on out.”

She did, squinting at the bright light of the hallway.

“What, you get demoted?”

“No. Stick out your hands, I gotta cuff ya.”

She did as he asked, looking around at the deserted area:

“Where is everybody?”

“I had’em clear out. Figured you might pull some of your crazy shit to avoid going back to your cell.”

“What? Why’d you think that?”

He took hold of her arm just above her elbow and urged her forward.

“You saying that wasn’t your plan just now?”

“…Not sayin’ shit.”

“I’m gonna take that as confirmation. And didn’t say I thought that. Was your girl who was all over it.”

“Buffy?!”

He laughed and steered her around the corner:

“Damn Lehane, how many you got?”

She didn’t answer, asking her own question instead:

“So B figured I was gonna what exactly?”

“Assault your escort so you could stay Holed away from her.”

“And you’re s’posed to stop me?”

“Nobody here but me. You planning to rough me up, Faith?”

“Doesn’t matter. Soon as we get back to the block, I’m gonna nail the first person I see.”

He laughed again:

“Yeah? So you wanna stay away from her so bad, you don’t care if you get me written up?”

“What?”

“You’re my responsibility. I vouched for you with the Warden and asked to provide the solo escort. You act like a punk, it’s on me. Probably get me docked a few days pay, maybe even suspended. Gonna look real bad, ‘specially if I ain’t got a mark on me when the beating’s over.”

She stopped walking and he stopped with her. He kept his face neutral as she looked up at him.

“...Oughta fuckin’ paste you one for doin’ this shit.”

“Probably, but you won’t. Not now, not ever, so sell the wolf tickets to somebody else.”

Then they were moving again, and Faith was pissed. They climbed the stairs and Eddie let himself smile when he was behind her. He still didn’t know what was going down exactly, but he knew that he liked the blonde shit disturber and the effect she was having.

Something bad had happened a few months ago and it had caused his favorite prisoner to shut down. He’d tried to get it out of her, but she wouldn’t tell him. Despite their close relationship, when push came to shove they were still guard and prisoner, and she wasn’t about to tell him what was going on.

Nobody else was going to share info with a screw either, except maybe the snitches, but it turned out they didn’t know much more than he did. It left him concerned and frustrated and willing to break a few rules and regulations, maybe even risk his job if it came down to that.

The kid trudging up the stairs in front of him like she was headed to the electric chair was special to him. He was grateful to her of course, but he genuinely liked her too. She didn’t belong in prison and he wanted her to get her ass out and into a real life. He knew she could make something good for herself, she just needed to realize that too.

He’d read her jacket, knew what she’d done, but that person was nothing like the one he saw day in, day out, and nothing like the woman who had thrust herself in between him and a homemade shiv. It would have killed him, he knew that, and she was touch and go for three days.

He was there when she woke up, he was the one who shoveled the ice chips into her mouth until she felt a little closer to normal.

“How long this time?”

“Three days.”

He’d wedged the white plastic spoon into the Styrofoam cup of ice and let his eyes meet hers:

“Owe you my life.”

“…Great. Maybe you can not toss my shit all over durin’ the next shakedown.”

“Maybe.”

He’d taken her hand then and they’d both nodded as an understanding passed between them.

He’d been happy when he’d heard she had a good shot of getting out early. His glowing report of how she’d saved several lives that day and had quelled the riot almost singlehandedly, all while refusing the escape route clearly available to her, had gone a long way towards getting her seen in a different light.

It turned out the riot wasn’t her only good deed. A little digging revealed that Lehane had been helping out inmates and guards left and right for a long time, and Eddie diligently reported each and every one of those incidents too.

The official song and dance was that prison was supposed to be all about rehabilitating people, making them see the error of their ways before they were released back into society. Well, Inmate 430019 was ready to go, she was more than ready to go, and the word was it was getting closer and closer to becoming a reality.

Then something happened and just like that, the wind went out of her sails. She suddenly turned her back on her chance and he couldn’t reach her, nobody could…not until a little scrap of a blonde had become her cell mate.

Now Lehane was alive again. She was mad as hell, but at least she wasn’t just lying on her bunk facing the wall until he forced her to move. Buffy was nothing but a good thing, and she had Officer Jackson’s help as well as the Warden’s. Eddie felt good about his team, but he didn’t have any illusions either…Lehane wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

When they got to the cell, Buffy was sitting on the edge of the top bunk, her legs swinging in the air. Faith was clearly taken aback and she turned to her guard for help:

“Eddie, that’s my bunk!”

“Open up for 430019!”

The door slid open as Eddie unhooked the handcuffs.

“Did ya hear me? She’s on my bunk!”

“Yeah, I heard you. Was trying to ignore your baby whining.”

He shoved her into the cell, then called out for it to be closed.

“Okay, you’re both in lockdown for at least a week, maybe more. Meals in here, shower every three days unless your guard says otherwise. Since that’s me, can tell you right now: you don’t give me any trouble, you get one every day. I’ll let you out for the bathroom a couple times too, but Lehane, I mean it: none of your shit. I can’t afford it and neither can you.”

And then he was gone.

Faith’s hands were gripping the bars as she stared out into the hall, totally freaking. She hadn’t felt so panicked since the night she was first locked in.

“Where’s your harmonica?”

“…”

“Faith?”

“…What?”

“Harmonica. Do you have one?”

Faith didn’t turn to look at her, her death grip on the bars not relaxing in the slightest.

“No, I don’t have a fucking harmonica.”

“Really? I thought they were standard prison issue.”

Faith finally turned to look at her:

“What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

“Well, this kind of moment’s in every prison movie ever made and they always play something bluesy and sad on the…”

Her forehead crinkled as she tried to remember:

“…skins! No, I think those are drums…The month heart? No, but it’s something like that...”

“You’re on my bed, B, and I don’t like it.”

“I know, I heard you complaining about it to Officer Rhodes, but here’s the thing, F: I’ve decided to make you my bitch and I’m exerting my dominance over you by taking the top bunk.”

Faith looked at her, then turned back to stare out into the hall.

“I know you think you’re bein’ all cute and funny, but…”

“No, if I was trying to be all ‘cute and funny’, I’d say something like : ‘Assume the position’.”

Faith walked casually over to the bunks.

“Okay, yeah, you’re funny and cute, but this here? Not gonna fly. You need to get your ass outta here and go home…now.”

“I think I explained how that works the first day I showed up...”

Faith’s hand was now resting on Buffy’s knee, sliding gradually down towards her ankle.

“…but I guess I should have also explained that if you try to yank me off this bed, I will kick your ass like never before.”

Faith looked Buffy in the eye and after a brief pause, her hand left her leg.

“Buffy, what you want? Never gonna happen. You’re wastin’ my time and yours.”

“So? It’s not like you have anything else to do.”

“I got plenty to do. I…”

“What? Stay in your bed while you stare down a wall? Sorry, I’ve got other plans for both of us.”

Faith began pacing:

“I don’t give a shit what you…”

“You’re a liar, you more than give a shit.”

“…This isn’t fair, B.”

Buffy shrugged:

“Maybe, maybe not, but it’s how it is. We have a lot to talk about and nothing to do but talk. I call it the perfect sitch.”

Faith sat down on the bench that was attached to the wall by the desktop.

“Fine, wanna have a war in here, that’s what we’ll do.”

Buffy went back to swinging her legs:

“My baby done left me…doo doo doo doo doo…Left me high and dry…doo doo doo doo doo…Mouth harp!”

*****

The hours passed slowly. Eddie let them have a shower after the other inmates had finished and Faith, although happy to be clean again, was wishing they hadn’t been allowed. Buffy had put on a show for her, all glistening sex as she’d cleaned and rubbed and slid and oozed all over the place. By the time their time was up, Faith was more than a little on the wound up side.

Eddie was waiting out in the hallway with a female guard who’d come along as a chaperone, and the Slayers got dressed without speaking. Buffy kept looking at Faith with her sexy little half smile and making breathy little sighs every time she did any movement at all. The end result was that Faith ripped her shirt as she tried to remember how to put it on, shoving her arm right through the material.

“Fuck!”

“Mmm…that sounds good to me.”

She ignored Buffy, calling out to Eddie:

“Need a new shirt, Boss.”

“Hear ya!”

A couple of minutes later, a shirt came sailing in from the clothing supply room.

“Thanks.”

“Sure. Now you girls hurry it up.”

Buffy was done and she walked to the door, her hand trailing along Faith as she went by:

“Best ass on the planet.”

She laughed as Faith jumped when she pinched it, and then Buffy was out of sight, her voice drifting into the room as she chatted with the guards.

Faith was nearly panting, totally on fire and mad at herself for feeling that way. She knew what Buffy was doing, but she was powerless to stop it. Buffy turned her on just by existing, and when she was actually trying to be sexy? Faith didn’t stand a chance.

They got back to their cell and it wasn’t long before their dinner was delivered. They ate in a relative calm: Faith at the desk, Buffy on the top bunk, until Faith suddenly strode over to the bars.

She looked down the line and everything about her said she was furious. Buffy had seen nothing except two inmates walking by. They’d looked in at the locked down Slayers, but hadn’t said a word as they’d kept going.

“Faith?”

“Fucking bitches!”

“Who? The women who just walked by?”

Faith said nothing, her head swiveling in both directions before she finally relaxed and went back to her dinner.

“Faith?”

“…Ya don’t ever look into somebody’s cell, not ‘less you want a beatin’ or a shiv in your gut.”

“Really? Now you tell me. I’ve been doing that since I got here , but no one’s said anything.”

Faith finished her milk:

“‘Cause you’re a fish and mine on top of it. Earns ya a little leeway, least for awhile.”

“Okay, they’re not ‘fish’ or ‘yours’, so what just happened? Why did they look in?”

“Was a drive-by, courtesy of some of Frankie’s crew.”

Buffy was still somewhat confused:

“Meaning?”

“Meaning your stunt in the yard’s got her thinkin’ I’m vulnerable.”

“Why? I kicked your ass because I’m even better than you. How does that make her think…”

Faith stood and walked back over to the bars:

“None of’em saw it, B. Frankie’s crew and me are kept separate. All they got’s word of mouth, and who’d believe there’d be another chick tough as me?”

“So what? They think you’ve suddenly lost your strength?”

“No, they think you got my balls in a jar.”

Buffy laughed:

“Well, that’s kind of true, but …”

“Thing is, we gotta stay alert. Can’t pull any shit since we’re locked in here, but when lockdown’s over, all pussy’s gonna break loose.”

“And you got all of this from one casual glance into our cell?”

Faith looked at her:

“My cell, and yeah. There’s gonna be more, you’ll see.”

And there were. Two more “drive-bys” occurred before the evening changed into night, then there were just the usual sounds of taunting, sex, and chatter as sleep came to claim the inmates.

Faith paced relentlessly, still refusing Buffy’s offer of sparring. She walked for over an hour before she crawled into her lower bunk without a word. Buffy waited a few minutes, then quietly joined her. Faith jumped slightly when she felt Buffy slide in behind her.

“Shh…it’s just me.”

She spooned against Faith’s back, preventing her from turning over.

“Yeah, I know who it is. Get back to your own bed.”

“Why? You’re all worked up, I can help you with that.”

As she spoke, her lips brushed against Faith’s neck and one of her hands gently caressed her breast.

“B…”

“I’m right here, all real life and still wanting you.”

“…You need to go back to…Buffy…”

Buffy’s leg hooked over Faith’s as her hand began tracing lazy circles downward.

“I know what we both need.”

Her leg muscled Faith’s over, flipping her onto her back and letting Buffy rest on top.

“See? Was I right or what?”

“I can’t…Oh God, B, don’t move.”

Buffy’s hips were swaying slightly and her lips kissed Faith’s neck, jaw and chin as she pressed down slightly harder.

“You don’t tell me what to do, F. You’re my bitch, remember?”

Faith went to push her off, but instead her arms wrapped themselves around, slipping under Buffy’s wife beater to smooth along her hot silky skin. They both groaned at the sensation and Buffy dipped her head to deliver a searing kiss.

Their tongues swirled and played, and Faith knew she was losing, if not already lost. When they broke apart, Buffy’s mouth engulfed her nipple right through her shirt. Faith’s back arched up to meet her, a guttural noise of pleasure escaping from her. Buffy tormented her for a minute, then lifted her mouth back to Faith’s ear:

“You’re so hard, baby.”

Her hand pushed under Faith’s shirt to grasp onto her breast, her thumb moving slowly against her nipple.

“Look at me.”

Faith slowly opened her eyes to stare up into Buffy’s in the dim light:

“This is real, Faith. We’re right here, together. Just like we’re supposed to be.”

Faith said nothing, feeling nothing but Buffy…her heat, her strength, her softness.

“Just me and you with no reason at all to be apart.”

She moved from side to side, and although Faith tried hard not to react, she moaned and began keeping pace with Buffy.

“Baby, we have to get this out in the open…just deal with it so it can’t…”

Faith shoved at Buffy and Buffy let her go.

She stood beneath the window, her arms wrapped tightly around her body. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, the tension packed silence thick between them.

“B, I know you mean well. And I want you, you fuckin’ know I do…”

“But?”

“You just gotta let it go now.”

Buffy went to her, stopping a small step behind and letting her hand rest lightly on Faith’s back:

“I can’t let it go, I’ll never be able to do that. Whatever happened, whatever you’re blaming yourself for, it’s not your fault.”

Faith’s voice exploded out of her as she whirled to face Buffy:

“You can’t know that! You don’t have a fucking clue what I did! Just go the fuck home and leave me alone!”

“Faith, how can you expect me to do that? I love you, I know you love me, and I know you’re wasting away in here.”

“So what, Buffy, I’ve done my time? Suddenly murdering people in cold blood’s cool with you? I should just get to waltz outta here ‘cause you love me now?”

Buffy grabbed her chin and made her meet her eyes:

“This doesn’t have anything to do with me. You were more than willing to get out when I was dead. What changed? What happened, Faith?”

Faith jerked her head away:

“I don’t wanna talk about this.”

“Yeah, I think I got that.”

“Then try actin’ like it and knock this shit off.”

Faith walked away, but Buffy followed her. Faith kept edging back and Buffy kept advancing, eventually wedging Faith into a tiny corner.

“The world needs you because you’re a Slayer…”

“World’s already got one.”

“…and I need you because you’re Faith.”

“You gonna let me outta here or keep me hemmed in all night?”

Buffy stepped back and let Faith out.

“Think maybe you can shut up in your sleep?”

“Maybe, but, F?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s my bed you’re climbing into.”

Faith looked back at her, her face amused and irritated in equal measures:

“You really gonna make a stink about the top bunk?”

“Top dog gets the top bunk.”

Faith’s response was a soft mutter as she crawled into the bottom bunk, but Buffy could hear every word: “Top bitch is more like it.”

“That’s right, baby. Guess that makes you my bottom bitch.”

“Just shut up, B.”

Buffy jumped up into her bed:

“Ooh, look who gets all cranky when they don’t get any.”

“Fuck right off.”

“It could come to that, and although I’m really good at pleasing myself, well, I always imagine it’s you doing it anyway.”

Faith went so still and quiet, it was deafening.

“What’s the matter, F? Does that visual have you all hot and bothered?”

“…Night.”

Her voice was all strangled and shaky, and she had to clear her throat twice just to get the one word out. Buffy smiled at her reaction:

“Sweet dreams, Slayer.”

*****

The next four days were a living hell for Faith. She was turned on nearly all the time and doing her best to act like she wasn’t, she was fighting not to crack, and she was trying her best to ignore the constant stream of conversation pouring out of Buffy’s mouth.

Sometimes it was inane babble, sometimes it was Buffy sharing herself, sometimes it was Buffy analyzing Faith, analyzing herself, and/or analyzing Faith and Buffy together. Other times Buffy would talk about what she wanted to do to Faith, what she wanted to do to herself, and what she wanted them to do to each other.

There were now small chunks of concrete chipped out of several spots on the wall and the tiny little desk shelf tilted slightly to the left. Faith also seemed to be doing her best to wear a groove in the cell floor, all while Buffy sat contentedly on the top bunk, her legs dangling and swinging happily in the air.

At night she joined Faith in her bed, touching her, kissing her, loving her and Faith despite every promise she made to herself, didn’t even try to stop her. She craved it, and no matter how mad she was at Buffy, no matter how scared she felt, it all went away whenever Buffy was lying with her.

Faith would just give into her, feeling a sense of belonging and happiness that lasted longer and longer until she would regain her senses and scamper out of the bed, the night’s make-out session firmly over. Buffy wouldn’t say a word as she returned to her own bunk.

Faith would eventually lay down again and try to find sleep, at first infuriated that Buffy’s scent was everywhere, surrounding her and making her desire ratchet even higher until she felt like she was going to explode. Then as the minutes passed, that scent would again lull and soothe her, relaxing Faith into a restful sleep she hadn’t known in forever. She would awaken the next morning determined to refuse Buffy, but she knew it was just a lie that would only stay with her until the darkness fell.

On the fifth day, Faith finally snapped. Buffy was running through the alphabet to find the name of the person she thought was involved in whatever it was that Faith didn’t want to talk about, and Faith had had enough. Her intent was to grab Buffy by the legs, pull her off the bed and then beat the living hell out of her, but as she approached, Buffy jumped quickly to the floor, landing at the ready.

“Problem, F?”

The smug look on her face enraged Faith and she swung out. Buffy caught her fist in one hand and slapped her on the cheek with the other. She let go, shoving Faith back and effectively stopping the momentum of her attack. She stayed on guard, like a lion tamer trapped without her chair and whip as she braced herself for a full on assault.

Faith stood where she was, staring at Buffy while she tried to regain control of herself. Her muscles were bunched, she was poised to attack and her anger was coming off of her in palpable waves. Neither Slayer said a word until Faith screamed out:

“Fuck!”

She slammed her fist down onto the desktop, snapping it off and leaving a jagged edge behind. She picked up the broken piece of metal and threw it against the bars, the clanging combining with the echo of her scream.

Buffy was already back up on the bed, her feet swinging casually by the time Eddie made his way to them.

“Ladies.”

Faith looked up at the sound of his voice:

“What the fuck do you want?”

“Oh man, one of those days…again?”

“Well, what’d ya think it was gonna be? You got me locked in here with this fucking bitch all day and night.”

“Hi, Officer Rhodes.”

“Hey, Buffy. You got something in the mail today. It’s illegal in here so you can’t have it, but I figured you’d like to see it anyway. It sure made me laugh like hell, think you’ll get a kick too.”

He reached into his back pocket and held up a soap on a rope. Buffy laughed and walked over to the bars to watch the white soap dangling in the air:

“Did that come from Willow Rosenberg?”

“Yep, she sent you a letter too.”

He slid it through the bars into Buffy’s eager hands and she practically squealed with delight as she took it.

“Hey, how come it’s already open?”

“Sorry, standard prison snooping. They gotta look it over first.”

“Oh. That really sucks, but I don’t care. I got mail!”

“You got one too, Lehane.”

“Keep it.”

“It’s from the big guy.”

“You deaf or somethin’? I don’t want it!”

Buffy reached out:

“Here, I’ll take it for her.”

Faith looked at her like she was crazy:

“The fuck you will!”

“Here you go, Buffy.”

Faith was at the bars in a blur:

“You can’t just hand my mail over to somebody else! What the fuck are you…”

“Well, considering you ain’t even supposed to be getting mail in lockdown, guess you can report me if you want.”

Faith stood there glaring:

“This is fucked up! Why you takin’ her side on everything?”

Eddie stepped closer to the bars:

“’I’m always on your side, Crazy Girl. Turns out this one is too, so I’m backin’ her play.”

Faith shook her head in disgust and walked back to the desk. She practically slammed herself down onto the bench and after a small pause, Eddie continued:

“You’re gonna have to wait to shower until later. Had a fight in there and they gotta get the blood out ‘fore the last two groups can go in. You guys need a bathroom break? Be like a couple of hours.”

Faith didn’t answer, but Buffy smiled gratefully at him:

“Nope, I’m good and I don’t think Faith really gives a crap…HAHAHA!!! Sorry, I think I’m going a little stir crazy in here.”

Eddie smiled back at her:

“I got sisters, so give me a heads-up if you got a problem.”

“Okay, thank you.”

He looked at Faith and the broken desk:

“I’ll be back with a repair guy to fix that. Don’t cut yourself, Lehane.”

She said nothing and he didn’t push her. Buffy hopped back up on the top bunk and began reading her letter from Willow.

It was interesting. Apparently Willow had tried 13 eggs scrambled and it turned out that Buffy’s egg was actually broken in the carton for good. Their dog, Giles, could bury another bone in the side yard that was shaped like a shoulder, and that’d be the only way Buffy could ever talk to him again.

She should call with her decision if the bone needed to be dug up or if she had any other questions about it at all. Also, did Buffy know that women in Australia were called “sheilas”? Willow said she would love to go to Australia and see the kangaroos and koala bears and talk to the pretty sheilas, but since she was grounded, she’d just have to send a telegram or maybe tell a friend.

She signed off with “Good day, mate. Love and miss you, Willow.”

Buffy smiled, Willow’s “ingenious” code was hysterical. The prison official who’d scanned the letter must have thought she was insane.

Buffy didn’t think it was necessary to have another “egg” buried in her shoulder, she was more than fine with the set-up the way it was. She was also hoping that she wouldn’t have to be in prison for much longer and she stood firmly by her statement that she wanted no part of the bone yard with Giles or Willow as her companion. It made her shudder just to think about it, and she was definitely going to get word to Officer Jackson that she was a-okay with the current situation, even her “grounding”.

She looked at Faith who was brooding angrily at what was left of the desk.

“Want me to read your letter from Angel to you?”

“…”

“Faith?”

“Why don’t you shove Angel up your ass?”

“Dear Faith…”

Buffy read all three pages out loud to a silent audience. When she was done, she placed the letter back into the envelope and began talking excitedly:

“So wasn’t that just about the best news ever? Your lawyer’s got it all lined up. She just needs to figure out a date you’d be willing to give a deposition and then make sure that one judge is the one you give it to. Faith, I think it’s really going to happen, you’re going to get out of here!”

Faith stalked over to the bed:

“What are you, deficient? I’m not talking to any judge or lawyer, and I’m sure as shit not getting out.”

“Why?”

“Go to hell, Buffy.”

There was a long silence and then Buffy started with her list again:

“Okay, where were we? The ‘Ms’, right?”

“…”

“Mary?”

“…”

“Melanie?”

“…”

“Margaret?”

“…”

“Missy?”

“…”

“Murphy?”

“…”

Buffy continued until she was stumped:

“Okay then, moving on to the ‘Ns’.”

“You wanna knock it off?”

“Not particularly. What I want is for you to talk to me.”

Faith leaned back against the wall in the little space next to the bars:

“Know you’re the Golden Girl and used to gettin’ your own way, but…”

Her statement stopped abruptly as she spun quickly towards the hall, reaching out and snagging the girl walking by. Faith pulled hard, slamming her unlucky victim against the bars.

“Hey, how ya doin’?”

There was no answer unless a groan of pain counted.

Faith exerted steady pressure, forcing Frankie’s crew member’s face even further into the unyielding metal.

“Glad to hear it. Hey, can ya get Frankie a message for me?”

A slight adjustment and the groaning became a yelp.

“Tell her I don’t like drive-bys and when I get outta here, I’m gonna explain that to her in person. Thanks.”

Faith let go and the girl staggered back, the imprint of the bars clearly visible on both of her cheeks.

“Might also wanna tell everybody else to stay on that side of the driveway.”

The girl took off still whimpering, her nose bleeding steadily from the initial impact.

“…that’s not gonna happen this time, B. It’s just what it is and that’s all it’s ever gonna be.”

They stared at each and after a beat, without looking away, Buffy spoke calmly:

“Nancy?”

“…”

“Nelly?”

“…”

“Natalie?”

“…”

“Nadine?”

“…”

Faith sat back down at the desk wishing for the death penalty, for her or for Buffy, it didn’t really matter. Just stopping the barrage of words was all Faith cared about and she steeled herself not to flinch when she heard the name:

“Nicole?”

*****

The evening arrived slowly. Not surprisingly, there’d been no more drive-bys and Buffy noticed that everyone, Frankie affiliated or not, walked as far away from their cell as they could get. Faith had done her best to ignore her all day, and she was still doing it, even going so far as to turn her back on Buffy now that they were in the shower. That left Buffy with no other option than the one she took.

She embraced Faith from behind, their wet bodies sliding easily and intimately against each other.

“Oh God…”

“Nope, just B.”

Buffy’s hands each filled themselves with one of Faith’s breasts and Faith moaned loudly:

“Buffy…”

“You’re trying to ignore me…I don’t like that.”

Her fingers grazed over and around Faith’s nipples and Faith’s hands landed on the wall in front of her as she tried to brace herself. Buffy squeezed roughly, her mouth nibbling and licking on Faith’s neck as she left mark after mark, and Faith couldn’t hold out any more.

She spun them quickly, slamming Buffy against the wall and pinning both her hands with her own. Her mouth smashed into Buffy’s, her tongue already inside as Buffy’s lips opened instantly for her. Faith wanted to devour her. She wanted to be inside and outside of her, to own and be owned by her, and she just didn’t give a fuck anymore what price she had to pay to make all of that happen.

Buffy’s legs lifted to wrap around Faith’s waist as the water beat down on them, and Faith let go of her hands so that she could grab onto her ass and hold her steady. Buffy leaned her back against the wall to push against Faith with more force, then her hands tangled themselves in the thick, dark hair.

Faith staggered slightly as the balance shifted, then lowered her head to Buffy’s breast. When Buffy moaned out at the feeling of being engulfed in Faith’s warm mouth, Faith moaned right along with her, the taste far better than anything she’d ever imagined. She pulled Buffy to her, then slammed her back against the wall again and began sliding her upwards, trying to get Buffy’s legs up to her shoulders.

She kissed all down Buffy’s body as she kept pushing her higher, and then she was there. She let Buffy’s legs drape over her and without an instant of hesitation, she dove right in. Buffy jerked as Faith’s tongue thrust roughly inside, her hands flailing over her head with nothing to grab onto except the wet, tiled wall.

Finally she dropped her hands, one tangling again in Faith’s hair, the other at the back of her head and pushing her in even further. Buffy was coming, but that only meant something to Faith way back in the recesses of her brain. All she was really aware of was that she was right where she loved being the most, and she was never, ever leaving.

Buffy was killing her, riding her face wildly as her orgasm kept coming and going, coming and going. Faith could barely breathe and it felt like Buffy was tearing huge clumps of her hair right out of her head, but Faith didn’t care about that either. She was willing to die right where she was because there couldn’t be a better way to go out. The much vaunted “dying in your sleep in your own bed” couldn’t hold a candle to being suffocated in Buffy.

She continued licking and sucking, her face buried, her heart exposed, and she felt great...just not as great as Buffy apparently, because she was making more noise than thirty women. She was groaning, rambling, moaning, speaking in tongues and chanting Faith’s name over and over like it was some kind of magic password that was going to get her three wishes granted, all without going through the pesky middleman.

Neither woman had the first clue how long they went at it. One minute, a hundred hours, maybe even a year, but when Faith finally pulled back gasping for air, she didn’t go far, resting her head on Buffy’s trembling thigh. Buffy’s eyes were closed, her mind nowhere near, and it took some time before she could get all systems working even close to normal again.

Her hand loosened in Faith’s hair, caressing her gently, and when she said Faith’s name, she saw the quiver ripple its way along her spine.

“Faith, put me down.”

Faith’s head turned, delivering one last delicate kiss, and then she Slayer powered Buffy up and off of her to let her stand on the floor. They stood there leaning against each other with the water spraying down on them until Buffy lifted Faith’s head and kissed her.

“I love you, Faith. With everything in me…and I guess you can take that literally now.”

Faith smiled, her dimples becoming the sexiest things…well, some of the sexiest things Buffy had ever seen.

“Fuck, I love you too, B…way more than I know how to handle.”

“Hmm…I think you’re going to figure out how to handle things pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, well, so far, so good.”

Buffy laughed and brushed the wet hair back from Faith’s eyes:

“Uh, no. ‘So far, so crazy unbelievable’.”

“Yeah, it really was some…”

“Um…you guys finished…with your shower?”

Buffy went red and hid her face in Faith’s shoulder, her whisper all muffled:

“Oh my God, he heard us!”

“Sorry, Boss. We’re comin’!”

Eddie snorted with laughter, but he didn’t say anything except:

“I’ll be out in the hall. Hurry up, we’re a little over time and I uh, I sent Officer Wilkins away, so you know.”

He left the dressing area and Buffy’s head stayed burrowed in Faith’s shoulder.

“I can’t believe he heard us.”

“Well fuck, B, you weren’t exactly quiet. C’mon.”

She turned off the water and grabbed their soap and shampoo, then pulled Buffy into the changing area. Faith tossed a towel to her, then began using her own to dry off.

“Don’t be embarrassed, for all he knows, coulda been me screamin’.”

“And what? You were screaming your own name in ecstasy?”

Faith smirked at her as she began getting dressed:

“Well yeah, I’m really hot shit, B. So, uh…you were in ‘ecstasy’, huh?”

“What do you think?”

“And it was probably like what? Top Three maybe?”

Buffy threw her wet towel into the hamper against the wall and slipped into her underwear.

“Faith…”

“Not tryin’ to be nosy or nothin’, just wonderin’ where it stacked up, is all. I mean, I’d even get Top Five, but I can’t go any lower than...”

“Top One, all right? Now can we just get dressed and back to our cell?”

Faith’s grin was huge, Buffy wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her smile that big.

“So, puttin’ it all delicate like…You’re sayin’ I ate you out the best you ever had?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. No one else even comes close.”

“Yeah? For real, B?”

Buffy rolled her eyes and got her shirt on:

“Yes, for real. Now would you please go out there and make sure he’s not going to say anything to me about hearing us?”

“Sure, B. Eddie’s cool, but I’ll make sure.”

She walked over and kissed her, then leaned in to whisper into Buffy’s ear:

“Your pussy was made to have my tongue in it.”

Then she was outside in the hallway talking to Eddie like nothing unusual had happened. He responded in kind and Buffy was relieved. She was still embarrassed, but she was also happy. She had just had sex with Faith. Hot sex. Hot shower sex. Hot prison shower sex. With Faith.

Embarrassment seemed a small price to pay for that, plus there was the huge added bonus of knowing that Faith would now be willing to talk to her. That meant they could finally deal with whatever was making her miserable, and once they had that taken care of, Faith would be free.

Free from all of the prisons she’d placed herself in and free to search for her redemption as a Slayer in the world. It wasn’t going to be easy, it was going to be hard and painful in all kinds of ways, but it was firmly within their reach now and they were going to grab hold of it. They were in love and that was going to get them through whatever they had to get through to make it free and clear to the other side.

Buffy walked out of the prison showers like she didn’t have a care in the world.

CHAPTER SIX

The trip back to their cell was uneventful and much like it had been every other day… except for the huge grin that Faith was currently sporting on her face. Her walk was jaunty, everything about her giving off happy vibes and making Buffy smile in return. Eddie was chatting casually with them and mercifully saying nothing about what he’d overheard, and Buffy couldn’t have been more grateful.

Her mind was already focusing on what was about to come when they got to their cell, and she was trying to prepare for all of the possible scenarios. She knew it was going to be hard on Faith and although concerned, she wasn’t afraid. They needed to get whatever “it’ was out into the open and once they did that, Buffy was confident they could get through it together.

She wasn’t sure what approach Faith was going to start with, but at least stonewalling seemed to be off the table if the sweet, almost shy smile being directed her way was any indication. Besides being the cutest thing Buffy had ever seen in her life, it also told her that Faith wasn’t the slightest bit sorry about what they’d done in the shower. There wasn’t going to be any shutting down, not any time soon anyway.

Faith was wide-open; lighter, happier, more at ease with herself and the woman walking stride for stride with her down the dingy prison hall, than she’d ever been before. She looked like they were taking a casual, lighthearted stroll through the park, and when her hand took hold of Buffy’s, it completed the illusion perfectly.

Eddie smiled as he saw their fingers entwine. Rules were rules, but he didn’t give a damn about that. Lehane was practically floating down the hall, just short of skipping and swinging her cell mate’s hand like some kind of love struck schoolgirl. Happiness was in short supply in prison and he wasn’t about to get between the lovebirds unless they started going at it again where they stood.

As they neared their cell, Eddie was forced to break them up, poking lightly at their hands with his baton. They let go instantly:

“Sorry, Boss.”

“No problem, but this ain’t gonna be good, no sense adding fuel.”

There was clearly a shakedown taking place in several of the cells, and the sound of inmates complaining and guards telling them to shut up was merely adding to the chaos. Other prisoners, either out of it altogether or just past their own shakedowns, were also yelling out things and the resulting uproar was just short of a full-fledged pandemonium.

Officer Morrison spotted them and headed over:

“And where have you two been?”

“What’s it to you, Morrison? They’re my prisoners and they’re under control.”

“Their asses should still be in the Hole for assaulting an officer.”

“That’s not your call.”

Eddie tried to get them moving again, but Morrison deliberately stepped into Faith’s path.

“Well, you might have a hard-on for this piece of trash, but the crazy bitch attacked me.”

Faith looked him up and down:

“Got that backwards. Wasn’t me doin’ the attacking.”

He practically snarled at her:

“Shut your mouth before I do it…and your filthy whore too.”

Faith’s arm barely rose an inch before Buffy had a firm grip on it, but she couldn’t stop Faith’s mouth from moving:

“So whatcha got there, Boss? Two, three inches hangin’ proud?”

“What’d you say to me?!”

“Figure you gotta be compensatin’ for somethin’. Tiny dick, right?”

He swung, his baton aimed right at her face, and then suddenly Buffy was handing it back to him.

“Here Officer, you dropped this.”

Morrison looked stunned by how fast she’d moved and how easily she’d taken his weapon from him.

“Y..you little dykes are heading back to the Hole. How’s a month sound?”

Eddie stepped in:

“Like you’re dreamin’. Listen up: you started this shit and tried to provoke two inmates who are under my jurisdiction. There was no problem ‘til you made one.”

“You saw that bitch grab my weapon!”

“No, what I saw was you trying to hit a prisoner in my custody, dropping your weapon like a clumsy fool, and then letting a fish who doesn’t know any better pick it up and hand it back to you respectfully.”

“What?! That’s not what happened!”

Eddie called down for their cell to be unlocked:

“My word against yours and the way it’s goin’, I’m starting to wonder if you’ve got all your faculties.”

Morrison was furious:

“Fine, stick up for a couple of scummy cunts. I’m shaking them down.”

“Sure, go ahead, but I’m going to stand right here and watch ‘cause you look like just the kind of screw who plants contraband.”

“Fuck you, Rhodes.”

“Do your job, Officer, if you’ve got a clue how.”

Morrison tore up their cell, even going so far as to cut the mattress on the top bunk under the pretense of following up on a tip.

“Damn boy, you’re sure making yourself look like an ass.”

Morrison stomped over to the bars, box cutter in hand:

“Yeah, how ‘bout I…”

“How ‘bout you lower that weapon ‘fore I make you eat it?”

Eddie stared Morrison down until he backed off and angrily exited the cell, yelling out:

“Clear!”

He stomped over to the next prisoner and they could all hear the complaining:

“Strip search?! What? Why? I been clean almost a whole week now!”

A female guard passed their cell, pulling on a pair of gloves as she nodded to Eddie.

He nodded back, then turned to the Slayers.

“I’m gonna file a report. It’s assholes like him that give us screws a bad name. Can’t get you a new mattress ‘til the morning, so guess you’ll have to bunk up.”

He smiled, then hollered out:

“Prisoners in!”

Their door slid shut, and Eddie started chuckling:

“Gotta tell ya, Lehane; I saw him once in the shower…you’re not far off at all. Okay, my shift’s over in about an hour, so if I don’t see you again, you girls have a good night.”

“Thanks, Eddie.”

“Sure. And, Buffy?”

“Yes, Officer Rhodes?”

“Nice reflexes. Maybe someday one of you’ll explain to me how you guys do stuff like that.”

Faith laughed:

“One day, Boss.”

“Lookin’ forward to it. See you tomorrow.”

Then he was gone and Faith turned to Buffy, her smile still in place.

“So what were you doin’, grabbing onto that asshole’s stick like that?”

“Would you rather I just let him smash you in the face?”

“No, plus it was wicked cool when ya did it.”

Buffy pulled her closer:

“Everything I do is wicked cool.”

“No argument here, B. Thought that from the second I saw ya.”

“Really?”

“Yep, even your dorky stuff. ‘Member when I embarrassed you?”

Buffy smiled:

“Yes I do, each and every time. Which one are you referring to?”

“First night when I told the whole gang slayin’ makes ya hungry and horny.”

“That was a total nightmare! I couldn’t believe you said that and then they were all staring at me, waiting for my answer.”

Faith laughed as she thought back to that night:

“Yeah, you went all pink and said sometimes you craved a non-fat yogurt! Hahaha! Oh man B, think I fell in love with you right there.”

“Well, what was I supposed to say? I go home and pleasure myself for an hour?”

“Yeah, okay, but ‘a non-fat yogurt’ was all you could come up with?”

Her voice went up higher as she tried to imitate Buffy:

“And then I watch a PBS show on Mother Teresa and all her good works.”

“Shut up.”

“I swear, B, they don’t make’em any cuter than you. Never have, never will.”

They kissed then, only to get broken up when Officer Cotton ran his baton against the bars of their cell as he passed:

“Against regs.”

He didn’t stop though, just kept moving and cutting them a break.

Buffy ducked back in for a quick peck, then sighed:

“I guess we need to wait until lights out.”

“Yeah, they don’t care if we fuck like rabbits then.”

Buffy looked around the cell in disbelief.

“Wow, what a mess and we hardly even have any stuff to throw around.”

“Yeah, we’d better get it back to specs ‘fore he writes us up.”

They worked quickly and quietly, and finally Buffy just asked her:

“We’re talking tonight too, right?”

“…Yeah, we’re talking.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“No, not really, but I made a decision in the shower and I guess I gotta live with it.”

Buffy rested her hand on Faith’s cheek, her eyes sympathetic:

“I know it’s going to be hard, Faith. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, B. No tellin’ how big an asshole I’m gonna be, I fade in and out at the best of times, you know?”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Faith smiled:

“You’re not kiddin’ there.”

They had nothing to do and a two hour wait to do it in, so they sat side by side on the torn up top bunk, flipping through their magazines. Morrison had ripped a few before tossing them to the floor and Buffy held hers up for Faith to see.

“Okay, now he’s really gone too far. He tore right through this picture of George…”

Faith was staring off into space, a million miles away.

“Faith?”

She didn’t hear her, clearly lost in thought and Buffy called her name again, giving her a shoulder to shoulder bump as well.

“Huh?”

“What’re you thinking about?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does. Tell me.”

“…Just thinking how happy I am and how that’ll all change when I tell you what happened. You’re gonna be so disgusted with me and…”

Buffy reached for her hand and held it tightly.

“No, I’m not. I know it’s bad, but I promise, Faith…it won’t change how I feel about you.”

Faith looked at her, scared and sad, her dark eyes filled with pain:

“Guess we’re gonna find out.”

“Maybe you are, but I already know. I love you, and when you think about it, it’s not like either of us have had a squeaky clean life, not alone or when it comes to each other. It’ll be okay, you’ll see.”

“Yeah, I hope so.”

“It will. Now what about my George Clooney complaint?”

“Try to live through it, B. At least the fashion pages made it safe and sound.”

As the time drew closer, Faith began pacing around the cell. Buffy didn’t say a word, watching her walk and wishing she could help her calm down. She had an idea how to do that, but the lights were still on and they needed to talk first. Faith chose that moment to look up at her and she gave Buffy a small smile:

“Sorry, guess I’m kinda nervous.”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

She resumed walking until finally the call came:

“Lights out!”

There was the usual flurry of activity and then the Slayers were in the dark.

Buffy said nothing as Faith stared out into the hallway, her arms hanging through the bars, her back tense as she stood there. She stayed where she was, silent and unmoving for several minutes, and then with a huge sigh she turned to face Buffy.

“Guess it’s time.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

“Yeah…”

She sat down on the little bench and Buffy stayed on the top bunk, scooting back until she was leaning against the wall with her legs tucked under her. The filling of the ripped mattress puffed out into the air, drifting around to settle on Buffy and the surrounding area.

“Damn, asshole really tore it a new one up there.”

“I didn’t think they really did stuff like this in real life.”

Faith smiled:

“Higher ups don’t love it ‘cause of the cost, and he’s screwed if Eddie files that report. Best is, the idiot thought he was fuckin’ up my bed. Guess he didn’t get the news that Buffy’s bitch sleeps on the bottom.”

They both laughed, then fell quiet again.

“Just take your time and start however you want to.”

“Yeah…”

She was up again and walking, and Buffy knew if they weren’t locked in a cell, Faith would have been off and running.

“I can’t do this, B.”

“No, you can’t…”

She hopped down and wrapped her arms around Faith’s waist from behind, pulling her back. Buffy leaned her chin on Faith’s shoulder and softly kissed her neck.

“…but we can do it together. Please Faith, just trust me. Let me be here for you.”

Faith leaned into Buffy, her hands coming up to rest on the arms holding her close. After a minute, she nodded.

“Okay, I’m okay. Let me give you some background to start.”

“All right.”

Faith lifted Buffy’s hand, kissed it, and walked over to the wall facing the bed. Buffy jumped back up onto the top bunk, and Faith waited for her to get settled before she began talking.

“It actually got started pretty soon after I got here, but I didn’t know that.”

Buffy said nothing and Faith kept going:

“No clue what her name was. I’d been here a couple of months and one day I just saw her. She was sittin’ in the yard, all hunched over, doing that thing where you try to make yourself smaller so nobody’ll spot ya. You probably don’t know that one, but I did it as a kid all the time, tryin’ to avoid gettin’ smacked.”

She laughed, even though nothing was funny.

“The b-ballers were fuckin’ with her, bouncing the basketball off the back of her head, seeing who could do it the most times in a row. She was just sittin’ there, actin’ like it wasn’t happening. I walked by ‘cause how the hell was it my business, you know?”

Buffy nodded, not daring to speak.

“But when I went by, I saw she was crying. Not all blubbery, just these big, sad, all alone tears. So I went back over and told’em to knock it off. Nobody knew me then, I’d been in psych eval most of that time, not in the GP. There were seven girls, pretty big most of’em, and they sorta circled around askin’ who the fuck I thought I was. Man, talk about a loaded question…”

Faith was staring off, clearly lost in her memories.

“Long story short, I flattened the ball and them. Got me Hole time for two weeks, but I didn’t fuckin’ care. Also got me a rep I worked on so I could keep people from messin’ with me.”

Her head tipped back and she closed her eyes.

“Time went by, and I had a soft spot for that kid. Was a mile wide and I didn’t exactly get why, ‘til one day it hit me…she was you, B. Black hair, blue eyes, 5’6 and solid, but the more I saw of her, the more Nicole reminded me of you. It was how she held herself, the way she said some words, and I started lookin’ at her like she was my chance to make some kinda amends with you. Stupid, I know.”

“That’s not stupid at all, Faith, I’d have done the same thing…well, not if she reminded me of me, but you, you know, like if she reminded…Shutting up now.”

Faith smiled, but it didn’t last long.

“So time keeps doin’ its thing and I started seeing who I really was. All that crazy shit started fallin’ away and then it was just me left. Felt like I could finally breathe again and my shrink, she helped sorta, but it was mostly Angel.”

Her voice softened, the affection and respect she felt for him draped over every word:

“I didn’t see him a lot, but when I did, the shit he said lasted a long time, plus he wrote me a million letters. Guy had a hundred plus years on me and turns out I was smart enough to listen. Go figure, yeah? Anyway, that was my deal. I was in here and helpin’ people, not for any reward, but just ‘cause I could.”

Buffy’s voice was quiet, like she hated to interrupt:

“Because you’re a Slayer.”

“Yeah, I think that’s right. At the time, I didn’t think about it like that. I was just doing what was natural, and the fact that it was the ‘right’ thing to do, well, that took me some gettin’ used to. Nicole ended up adjusting pretty quick. Seemed like she was always in some kinda trouble and she ended up joinin’ one of the gangs. We didn’t have much contact after that, which was good. I kept to myself, tough as that was sometimes, and the less crazy I got, the more I knew fuckin’ somebody just ‘cause they reminded me of you…well, not real smart.”

“It must have been hard to always be alone.”

Faith nodded, then went to stand underneath the window.

“Yeah, but I felt good too, you know? Like I wasn’t just a smear of shit on the bottom of somebody’s shoe, like I was somebody who mattered. Even if it was just in here, I felt like I could make a difference, finally be somethin’ decent. I kept tryin’ to apologize to you, I wanted to explain so bad what happened and maybe even…”

“Faith, I’m sor…”

“Don’t say it, B. No reason at all why you shoulda done different. You hated me, and we start listin’ out all the ‘whys’, we’d need Buck Rogers time to get it done. You were way within your rights, not like all I did was drink up the last of the milk, you know?”

“I’m still sorry. I should have at least talked to you.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I know you’d do it different now. Bottom line is that my life was mostly good in here. Nobody wanted to bunk with me, ‘cept the crazies and the groupies. Fuckin’ me woulda jumped’em up mega high in the chain here, but I kept outta that crap. Had a couple friends, usually people like Juanita who I helped, then they wouldn’t take a hint and get lost. There was Eddie and Mary, few more who breezed through, but I saw this deal as a ‘one psycho sitch’, and bein’ alone…was used to that anyways.”

Faith stood with her face turned upwards into the glow of the moonlight and she looked so beautiful, Buffy could only marvel at her.

“Everything was good, but then this one day I started off antsy and it just kept gettin’ worse. I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about ways to bust out, which I hadn’t done for a long time. I couldn’t sit still, couldn’t eat, couldn’t do anything except get more and more panicked. Lights out came and I was crawlin’ the walls. When the cell door finally slammed shut, I was standing in the hall.”

“Oh, God.”

“Yeah, I was on my way to SunnyD and turns out the guards didn’t much like that plan. Took’em about thirty minutes, but they finally brought me down. Tasered me more times than I could count, I busted outta a few sets of cuffs ‘til they brought the heavy duty shackles. I got tossed into the Hole and was walking around like a nut in there and then I felt it: you were dying. I went crazy and started screamin’ and tryin’ to bust through the door. Had a fist-sized hole and half of it bent back when they came in, full riot gear. Ended up beaten, hogtied and tranqed in there, which is illegal I think, but what else could they do? I was outta my fuckin’ head.”

Buffy remembered feeling Faith’s pain and her eyes filled with tears:

“You were the last thing I felt, Faith, how much you loved me.”

Faith glanced at her:

“Wish I’d have known that then…but I guess it wouldn’t have mattered in one way. Was a real rough time. Eddie used to talk to me through the food flap, then after about a week he risked comin’ in alone. I was shackled to the wall with just about everything they had, and he sat down right next to me on the floor and talked about nothing, just like it was a normal day. It was like he was so far away at first I could barely hear his voice, then he kept getting louder and wherever I’d been, I finally came back.”

She paused for a long time, then shook her head as if to clear it.

“We never talked about what caused it, but he took the shackles off and made up some story about me goin’ through a family tragedy. They cut me a huge break ‘cause I’d been a good prisoner ‘til then, ‘specially helpin’ stop the riot and shit, and after another round on the psych unit, they sent me back to my cell. Upped the ‘one on one’ shrink time, but nothing else changed.”

She sat back down on the bench.

“Angel was finally allowed to see me and he gave me the news about you. He looked scared, like he thought I was gonna go nuts and blow it. I told him I’d already done that, but I was okay and ready to get out and be The Slayer. Him and Giles got the ball rollin’ and I started tryin’ to get ready. I was scared, sad, mad, all that stuff, but I was gonna do it right and make you proud, B. Couldn’t ever replace you, but I was goin’ out fightin’ the good fight ‘til some bastard finally made it otherwise.”

“I know you would have done it, Faith, and I am proud of you.”

“Better wait for the next part.”

“It won’t change anything.”

Faith began walking:

“Yeah, it will.”

“So you were gone and all of the sudden it seemed like Nicole was everywhere. I hadn’t seen her for months, but now she was all over the place. One day we both pulled mopping duty and we were in the big storage room tryin’ to get it clean and …Never seen you hold a mop in my life, but she was holdin’ it just like you. I fucked her brains out. Kept my eyes closed the whole time tryin’ to pretend, but I felt like shit after. She was all happy, wanted to be my girl.”

Faith laughed:

“‘My girl’. I explained right up front I didn’t want a ‘girl’. Said I’d fuck her, but only on the QT. If she told anybody, it was done. The big surprise is she never told a soul. We fucked wherever we could and I always kept my eyes closed, never looked at her. It was a problem and she kept askin’ why, but what was I gonna say? ‘Well, I wanna pretend you’re the dead chick I fucked over so bad, I landed in prison. She’s ‘my real girl’ ‘cept she died hating my fucking guts’.” No way was I admitting to any of that, and not like it was her business anyway.”

“None of that’s wrong, Faith. It’s easy to understand why you…”

“That’s not true, B. Second I jumped her, I went off the rails, way off the rails. We kept at it and every time I was with her, she seemed more like you. Her voice, her body, the way she touched me…Didn’t make any sense, but I started needing her, couldn’t be without her.”

Faith sat down on the bench again, running a shaky hand over her face.

“Then you came back, and talk about your fuckin’ miracles. I was so happy, I didn’t care that you hated me, I just had to see you. But no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get in and I thought that meant you didn’t wanna see me, that you were blocking me somehow.”

“No, I was just insane, all confused and hurting and lost. I didn’t even know what I was doing, I was just trying to make it from day to day and my mind was so…It was like I was there, but not, and it was just so hard to live, to want to.”

Faith nodded, obviously understanding exactly what Buffy was saying.

“Yeah, been there, done that. Hurts like hell and gettin’ yanked outta Heaven’s gotta trump everything else.”

They both sat lost in thought for a few moments, then Faith cleared her throat and continued:

"So I figured everybody’d just forget about me, but not Angel. He just kept plowin’ ahead with the plan, ‘cept now I was gonna be headin’ to L.A. to work with him. I wanted to do it, but I was gettin’ more scared as the days went on. I still wanted to make you proud even though you hated me, but I was havin’ all of these big doubts again, almost like I was tryin’ to go backwards.”

Faith was fidgeting in her seat like she was having trouble staying put.

“But what was I gonna do? Nothin’ to do except just keep livin’ my life while I waited to get sprung. I had Nicole, not that I wanted to talk to her about shit, and I kept tryin’ to stay on track. It wasn’t working, I felt like I was losin’ it again and then…there you were.”

Buffy didn’t speak, she saw how tense Faith’s body was as she fought to keep going.

“I didn’t get it was real, thought I was doin’ it somehow, but man, I was so happy. I felt like I was with you, and I broke it off with Nicole. Wasn’t gonna cheat on you even if it was just a dream. She didn’t like it, really put up a fight. I tried to be nice, but she just kept doin’ shit and I finally lost it. I told her pretty rough that she was nothin’ to me but a replacement anyway, that I was all done with her and wanted her to leave me the fuck alone.”

Faith got up and went back to the window:

“Couple weeks later, she came to me crying. She told me she missed me, that she needed me. When I looked at her... there was nothing that was like you, don’t know why I ever thought there was, and I was all done fallin’ for her crap. By then, all she was to me was just some chick bawlin’ her eyes out to make me feel bad. I told her to fuck off, we were done, end of.”

Faith turned to face Buffy, looking her right in the eye.

“The next day I was doin’ inventory in the storage room when I heard her body hit. I went out in the hall, there was a buncha screws and cons in a circle and I saw all the blood spreadin’ out under her. I just kept right on walkin’, never even slowed down. Just blew off my job, went back to my cell and tried to act like I didn’t hear and see what I had. Don’t know why I never got shit for that.”

Faith hadn’t looked away from Buffy once and she still didn’t as the tears began falling:

“I just didn’t wanna get it, but she was begging me, B, crying those big, sad, all alone tears. And me, ‘Superhero 25-Life’? I couldn’t even give her the time of day. I just used her and dumped her, just like I’ve always done, and I knew right then I’d only been kiddin’ myself. No way can I be out there, I can’t even handle it in here. I’m not a Slayer, I’m a heartless, selfish murderer who uses people and never even looks back. I get on the outside, it’ll just be a repeat. There’s somethin’ rotten in me, and no matter what I try to do, it always ends up comin’ out.”

Buffy climbed down:

“Faith…”

“I’m this big hero, right? Doin’ good deeds in the Big House, takin’ on the bullies to protect the people who need protecting. I was so caught up in dreams and what I wanted, I let a kid kill herself ‘cause of me. Lehane to the rescue.”

She wasn’t looking anywhere near Buffy now, swiping angrily at the moisture on her face.

“I’m all fucked up, B, and I’m right where I oughta be. It’s like those things when we were kids, those scenes you look at and have to figure out what doesn’t belong in the picture. ‘Member those?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t resist as Buffy’s arms wrapped around her.

“Well, in this picture it’s you who doesn’t belong. Not in this prison, not in this cell, and not with me. You’re the Slayer, the real hero who makes the world safe from people like me.”

Buffy pulled her closer as Faith began crying in earnest.

“Just let it out, Faith.”

And she did exactly that as Buffy held onto her, murmuring reassuring words, rubbing her back soothingly and gently placing kisses on top of her head. Buffy ended up carrying her over to the bench where she sat down with Faith on her lap, her face still buried in Buffy’s shoulder.

She cried for a long time, her body wracked with guilt and grief, and Buffy held on tight. The sounds of the prison still went on around them, but Buffy didn’t hear anything except Faith’s pain. It was all that mattered to her and she wished she could do more than just sit there doing nothing.

Faith’s tears finally began slowing and the sniffling got started. She wiped her nose on her sleeve, then lifted her head, still not looking Buffy in the eye.

“Sorry for the waterworks. I…Look, maybe you could try explaining it to Angel when you get out? Guy doesn’t know how to let go.”

“Are you okay?”

Faith looked terrible and she struggled to pull herself free from Buffy’s grasp.

“I’m fine.”

“Faith, it’s okay to be upset. I just want…”

“Yeah, okay, thanks for the permission. Mind if I get up now?”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

Faith stood up, the mask of indifference Buffy remembered so well, falling into place.

“If wishes were horses, yeah? So, the warden gonna let you outta lockdown to go home?”

Buffy didn’t answer right away as she watched her walk back to her favorite spot underneath the window.

“Yes, I can pretty much go whenever I want to.”

“If I was you, I’d haul it first thing in the morning ‘fore the restaurants around here stop servin’ breakfast. Man, that’d definitely be my last meal if I had to pick: a huge ass breakfast.”

“What in the hell are you…You really just expect me to leave?”

“Yeah, it’s what you need to do.”

Buffy shook her head:

“I’d ask you if you’re crazy, but I think I know the answer to that. I’m not going anywhere, Faith, not until I know you’re okay.”

“Well, I am okay, you were right. It was good to get that off my chest, let somebody know what I did.”

Buffy stood up, the look on her face almost pleading:

“Don’t do this, there’s no reason for it.”

“Buffy, I’m not trying to ‘do’ anything. I told you the deal and there’s nothin’ you can say that’s gonna make any of it any different. It’s a drag and I’m sorry it went down like this, but it’s time for you to go home now.”

“So you want me to leave, tell Angel to give up on you, and then what? I should never look back, is that what you’re saying?”

Faith’s interest was riveted to the floor and she couldn’t stop staring at it, even as she spoke:

“B, I get you love me, and you know I love you. But I…I’m not ever gonna get it right. I can hang on a while maybe, sure, but then the real me will come out and somebody’ll pay a huge price. I can’t take any…Yeah, that’s what I want you to do. Just fucking haul ass and…”

Buffy could feel herself beginning to panic. Faith was shutting down, talking herself into believing there was only one way to go from the moment they now found themselves in. That wasn’t true, Buffy saw plenty of ways they could go and all of them had them going together.

She began moving towards Faith again, one slow step at a time:

“Well, I’m sorry, but I’m never going to do that, so we’d better figure out something else.”

Faith looked up at her as she kept getting closer:

“I’m tired, B.”

“Of what?”

“Of killing people, of pretending to be something I’m not. I’m so fucking tired of trying.”

Buffy’s shook her head:

“I’m sorry she’s dead, Faith, but Nicole killed Nicole.”

“That’s a cop-out and you know it.”

“No, it isn’t and besides, you don’t get to just stop trying.”

Faith snorted, her face flushed with emotion:

“Not gonna argue with you, B. You wanted to know what happened, there it is. Takin’ responsibility’s about all I got left right now, so maybe you could stop tryin’ to take that away from me.”

“And what about what just happened in the shower? Do you take responsibility for that?”

“It was…I made a mistake and got carried away.”

“And what about after: how happy you were, how we made plans to be together tonight? What about the fact that you told me you’d stick by your decision and…”

“I forgot where we were, who I am.”

“Uh-huh. And who are you, Faith?”

“Already told you.”

Buffy kept advancing:

“I heard you, but I don’t recognize that person.”

“Yeah, ya do, it’s who I am, who I’ve always been.”

“Fine. Then say it again.”

“B…”

Buffy pinned her in against the wall.

“Say it again. Look me right in the eye and tell me that the woman I love is nothing but a heartless, murdering whore, a selfish second-rate Slayer who hasn’t changed, who can’t ever change.”

“…”

“Come on, Faith, say it.”

“…”

“At least you have the sense not to repeat that crap to me.”

Faith looked everywhere, but at her.

“What do you want from me, B? Huh?”

Buffy was as close as she could get without touching her, a hand braced on the wall on either side of Faith’s head.

“I want everything from you, Faith, everything you are. The good, the bad and all of the stuff that’s in between. I want you with me, loving me and letting me love you. I want my partner back.”

“B, I want that too, but…there’s so much shit and I don’t think I can…”

“Maybe you can’t, but we can. You’re going to get through this, we’re going to get through this, that’s not up for debate. It’s time to fight and we’re going to…together.”

The silence stretched out as Buffy held her position, and after a minute Faith’s eyes finally rose to meet hers:

“God knows I want to, B.”

“Then just do it. It’s you and me, F: The Chosen Two. They can’t stop us.”

“…Be a helluva fight if they tried.”

Buffy’s smile brightened the dim cell and she leaned down and kissed her, pulling back way too soon to suit Faith:

“Hey, come back here.”

Her hands reached out for Buffy and she found them pushed firmly against the wall.

“No touching. I asked you a question and I’m still waiting to hear the right answer.”

Faith looked nothing but puzzled:

“I don’t know what you’re…”

“Who are you?”

“I thought you…I mean…”

Buffy leaned in and whispered into her ear:

“You’re my bitch, F.”

Faith laughed:

“Yeah, guess that’s been made pretty clear.”

“And you’re going to do what I tell you to do.”

Faith moaned as Buffy’s tongue and teeth played around her ear. She pressed her body hard into Faith’s and then murmured:

“Unbutton your shirt.”

“B, look, I’m not gonna…”

Buffy’s hand slid down Faith’s body and roughly grabbed her breast:

“Either unbutton your shirt or I’m going to tear it off you.”

Faith looked at her and saw that she was completely serious.

“B…I gotta wear this ‘til we get to shower!”

“Then you’d better unbutton it.”

Faith did as she was told.

“Now take it off, your t-shirt too.”

Faith stood topless, her dark eyes no longer sad or lost as they stared at Buffy with surprise and desire.

“Shoes and socks.”

“…”

“Now, Faith.”

Faith kicked off her shoes and bent over to pull off her socks. She jumped and almost fell when she felt Buffy’s warm touch gliding along her back.

“Mmm…your skin’s so soft.”

Faith stayed bent over until Buffy removed her hands:

“Straighten up, F.”

“No can do, B. Least not when you’re around.”

Buffy smiled at her:

“Smart ass. Take off your pants and underwear.”

“How ‘bout you take off your shirt so I can…”

“Take them off now or you’re going without tomorrow.”

Faith slid them down together, then took a tiny step forward to get clear as they puddled on the floor.

“Turn around…slowly.”

Faith heard the amusement in Buffy’s words, and she couldn’t help but smile as she remembered. This time she did as she was told.

“God, Faith, you’re so beautiful.”

Buffy came up behind her, stopping her at the half turn and wrapping her arms around to let her hands fondle Faith’s breasts. Her lips kissed slowly along her shoulder, up her neck and finally back to Faith’s ear:

“And you’re all mine.”

The feeling of Buffy’s breath and the sound of her whispering voice made Faith shiver:

“B…”

Faith’s words ended in a moan as Buffy’s fingers squeezed and she began walking them both backwards.

“I love every inch of you, inside and out…all of you belongs with me.”

One of Buffy’s hands slid downward, and Faith’s legs wobbled for a second.

“Tonight is ours, just you and me.”

Buffy spun them and shoved her hard into the bottom bunk. Faith started to reach out, but Buffy’s command stopped her:

“Don’t move until I say you can.”

And then she began stripping…slowly. Faith stayed frozen as she watched Buffy removing her clothing one deliberate piece at a time, and when she was finally naked, Faith was right on the edge.

“You’re mine, Faith, and I’m yours. Whatever else happens, whatever else goes down…”

Faith’s smirk appeared and Buffy couldn’t help but smile along with her.

“…nothing is going to change that. Don’t ever think I don’t want you, I’ll always want you, no matter what. I need you, Faith, let me show you how much.”

And then Buffy was there, her body warm and smooth as it slid along Faith’s, her hands and mouth igniting a blaze wherever they touched. Her smell, her sounds, her taste all swirling around until there was nothing else, and she made Faith give in and bend to her will. Their surroundings fell away until only the two of them remained and Faith finally knew without a doubt: she belonged to Buffy.

Buffy made love to her for hours and by the end of it, Faith was so exhausted and satisfied, she could barely move.

“Jesus, B…I just need…I just need a minute and…”

“I’m fine, F. Go to sleep.”

“Nah, I’m good. Just gimme…just gim…”

Faith was out like a light and Buffy kissed her on the forehead, then pulled the scratchy sheet and blanket up higher over both of them. She shifted slightly, snuggling in and tightening her grip on the woman in her arms.

“I’ve got you, Faith. Just hang on.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was bright and early when Faith finally began stirring. Buffy still held her in her arms and while she could blame that fact on the close quarters of the single bunk, she knew even if they’d been resting on the wide expanse of a king-sized bed, she still would have been exactly where she was.

Faith took a while to wake up, stretching in her sleep, snuggling in closer to Buffy, smiling and sighing, then snuggling in even deeper. The leg she had thrown over Buffy wriggled just enough to get Buffy’s attention and the contented noise she made as her face rubbed along a warm breast secured Buffy’s attention for about the next fifty years.

Her eyes opened slowly, like she was reluctant to leave dreamland, and when she managed to fully come back to reality, she looked almost startled to see where she was. Buffy thought she looked adorable:

“Morning, Sleepy Head.”

“…Uh…Mornin’, B.”

The sound of Faith’s husky and sexy voice made even huskier and sexier by a night’s worth of inactivity, had Buffy imagining all sorts of things, all of them good, very good. Except for the ones that were bad, very...She made herself concentrate:

“So, did you have a good sleep?”

“Yeah…”

Faith’s head lifted to look over Buffy and out into the cell.

“…best ever. What time is it?”

“Mmm…probably about an hour before we have to get up.”

Faith laid her head back down:

“For real, I slept all night?”

“Yep, sawing the logs of the log sawing Queen.”

She kissed Faith’s head and pulled her in closer.

“Damn, I don’t…never done that before.”

Buffy laughed:

“Well, I did wear you out, you know?”

“Yeah, talk about gettin’ rode hard and put away wet. Jesus, B, you were fucking amazing.”

“Thank you, and please consider me at your service any time.”

They were quiet, and then in a voice laced with surprise:

“Think it’s ‘cause you were holdin’ me.”

At the sound of those words, Buffy was sure she melted into a puddle.

“Better get used to it because I’m going to be doing it every chance I get.”

“Not gonna complain. So, how’d you sleep, B?”

“Good. Great. The best.”

“That’s good.”

Faith showed not the slightest sign that she wanted to move and Buffy was happy with their position too. She was also totally relaxed, her body at ease even though she’d just lied her ass off, because the truth of it was: Buffy hadn’t slept so much as a wink. Her mind had been way too busy going over everything Faith had told her, and now in the near light of the new morning, she had some questions she wanted answers to.

Just exactly who was Nicole and why had she been in the prison? What was her background and what had she done while she’d been incarcerated? All of that information was going to be vital in helping Faith deal with what had happened, but that wasn’t the only reason Buffy wanted to know.

Something was off, and no matter what angle she looked at it from, she just couldn’t see it any other way. Yes, it had definitely been a horrible tragedy, but it had also been a horrible tragedy that just happened to play perfectly into Faith’s guilt and insecurities, hitting her right where she was the most vulnerable.

Faith had worked so hard to turn herself around and then just when everything had looked the brightest, it had all been taken away with one well-placed strike. The self-esteem she’d fought so hard for, her confidence as a Slayer and her pride in all of the good she’d done, the real chance for a real future, everything just wiped out as if it had never existed. It was unbelievable, it was too much, and Buffy wasn’t buying it for a second. Something wasn’t right.

Faith was being eaten alive and Buffy wanted answers, and she wanted them yesterday. They finally had the problem out in the open, now it was time to start turning over every rock she could find. Her instincts were telling her that something was wrong and Buffy Summers always trusted her instincts. By the time she was done, there wouldn’t be so much as a dust bunny left unturned.

“Hey, B, where ya at?”

“Huh? Oh sorry, just basking in the after bask, I guess.”

Faith’s leg moved with purpose this time:

“Wanna maybe get paid back?”

“Always, but I’m really liking us just laying here.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh, aren’t you?”

Faith laughed:

“Well, don’t tell anybody, but yeah, I’m lovin’ it.”

“So you’ll pay me back later.”

Faith snuggled back in again:

“Can count on that, B.”

They stayed where they were for a glorious thirty-eight minutes, rising reluctantly only when they had to.

“Better get dressed. Gonna be roll call in a few.”

Buffy didn’t question her; since she’d been there Faith’s internal clock had never once been wrong. Sure enough, they’d just finished dressing when the lights came on and the call went out:

“On the gate!”

When roll call finished, they discovered their lockdown was conveniently over too. Eddie was smiling as he gave them the news:

“Figured after the shower you girls had, no sense in it anymore, so I filled out the paperwork before I left last night. Warden must’ve been burning the midnight oil ‘cause the signed release was in my mailbox when I got here.”

“Works for me. C’mon B, I wanna get some extras from Mary, I’m starvin’!”

“You go. I’ll catch up.”

“What? No, c’mon!”

Buffy smiled at her:

“I wasn’t prepared to ‘go’ go, I need a few. Save me a place in line, I’ll be right there.”

Faith looked from Buffy to Eddie, then nodded:

“Okay, but hurry the fuck up, yeah?”

“I will, I promise.”

Faith gave her a peck on the cheek and took off excitedly.

“Officer Rhodes?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you ask Officer Jackson to meet me in here as soon as she can?”

“Could, but she’s not here. She had car trouble, so she probably won’t make it in until noon time at best.”

“Damn it!”

Buffy looked pissed, then resigned:

“Okay, I guess they say patience is a virtue for a reason.”

She started to leave the cell, but he stopped her:

“Buffy, maybe I can help you out.”

“That would be so great, but I don’t wanna put you on the spot. I just really need to get something rolling, but it can wait if it has to.”

“Why not let me hear what you need and I’ll let you know if I can do it.”

“It’s nothing too bad, I just need to get word to someone on the outside.”

“And you don’t wanna wait for the request to go through?”

“I’m a woman in a hurry and I don’t want anyone listening in.”

“So who ya wanna contact? Your bookie?”

They both laughed.

“You could call him that, he used to be a librarian. His name is Giles, Rupert Giles. I need to get a message to him.”

Eddie took out a pen:

“Not allowed, but yeah, I can get it done in the next half hour. What’s the number?”

He wrote it on the palm of his hand.

“And what’s the message?”

“I need them to run a background check, a thorough one. Tell them a full human and demon…I mean, a ‘kitchen sink’, kind of background check.”

He said nothing as he stared at her for several moments:

“Got it, and I’m gonna say it just like you first did, even though I don’t have a clue what the hell you’re talking about. What’s the name?”

“I need them to check on Nicole.”

“‘Nicole’ who?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. The inmate from here who…”

“Nicole Ravner? Why do you want a check on her?”

Buffy had no idea what to say. Even though it was Eddie, she didn’t want to just blab Faith’s personal business all over the place.

“It’s for Faith.”

“Part of how you’re helping her?”

“Yes, I’d tell you, but I feel like it’s her story to tell, you know?”

“Yeah, sure. I just don’t get what Ravner has to do with Lehane.”

“Trust me, I’m not sure I get it either.”

Eddie put his pen away.

“Thing is, Buffy, I do trust you. Probably way more than I oughta. I’ll give this Giles guy a call as soon as I walk the cells to make sure nobody’s sick or hanging back to cause trouble. Be like fifteen minutes. I can also do a little snooping in the Records Department. Lady who works there’s sweet on me.”

“Aren’t we all? I can’t thank you enough, Officer Rhodes.”

“Getting Lehane back on track is plenty of thanks. I’ve been worried about that kid, but since you’ve been here? Not so much.”

“She’s going to be okay, I’m going to make sure of that. Speaking of which, I’d better hurry before she has a fit.”

He gestured her out:

“So I’m taking it she’s not in on what you’re having this Giles guy do?”

“No, just in case it’s nothing. I don’t want to get her hopes up or anything.”

“Got it.”

“Oh, and if Willow Rosenberg answers…”

“You mean: ‘Miss Soap on a Rope’?”

“Yep, one in the same. You can tell her too.”

“Got it. Cotton!”

He yelled down the line and they stood waiting.

“So tell me, Buffy, how many people are involved in this?”

Buffy smiled:

“I’ve got a whole posse on the outside. We call ourselves ‘The Scooby Gang’.”

“Yeah, heard about you. Real hard cases, always chasin’ bad guys and Scooby snacks.”

Officer Cotton walked up:

“Yeah, Eddie?”

“Would you mind walking Summers to the mess? Behind on my rounds.”

“Sure, no problem. Let’s move it, Summers.”

Buffy smiled at Eddie, then walked ahead of Officer Cotton with her thoughts on Nicole. She was going to have her answers soon and she couldn’t wait.

*****

The smell of the laundry room was comforting and nauseating all at the same time. It reminded Buffy of being home, sitting on the washer in her basement while her mom folded clothes and Buffy pretended to do the same. They would chat about nothing in particular and Buffy knew she would have given almost anything to be back there again.

The odor was much more concentrated in the prison laundry room, the sheer volume of chemicals as well as the number of machines producing heat and noise, made it a much less pleasant place to be. Still, she preferred it to bathroom duty and it was probably a tie with working in the kitchen, although watching Faith sneak food at every available opportunity was pretty much priceless, especially when Mary caught her.

Faith was at her side, pulling clothes out of the dryer and placing them on the table for them both to fold. Juanita and Large Marge were working on the clean sheets at the other end of the table, swearing and laughing as they tried to get the ends to meet up.

Juanita looked over at the Slayers folding the clothes:

Hey, how come you chicas get the easy job?”

“’Cause we’re blowin’ Morrison for the privilege.”

“Hahaha!!! Faith, there aren’t enough privileges in the world to make that happen.”

They all laughed and went back to their chores. Faith kept glancing at Buffy, then looking away.

“What, Faith?”

“Nothin’.”

The looks continued, and Buffy finally turned to face her:

“Spill it, Lehane.”

“Just…uh…Can I talk to you, B, without it bein’ a big deal?”

“Sure, as long as it’s not about me leaving you in here forever.”

“No, it’s not about that!”

“Okay then, go ahead.”

Faith hesitated, then tossed down the shirt she was folding and faced Buffy:

“B, of course it’s about that.”

“I knew it! Look, this whole topic is non-negotiable. I am not forgetting about you, you are not staying in here so you can beat yourself up forever, and I’m more than prepared to pound that into your head if I have to.”

“I’m not tryin’ to be difficult…”

“Well, a big congratulations to you then for doing it so effortlessly.”

They stared at each other, then turned back to face the table as they resumed their folding. Neither spoke for a long time, convinced that they were right and the other Slayer was at best, misguided.

“B?”

“What, Faith?”

“I don’t know what to do. I want you, I want us, but fuck, Buffy…you can’t just ignore everything. I mean, I don’t know how to do shit, and I can’t do what you want me to. I don’t wanna hurt you, but I…”

“Stop.”

“…don’t see how…What?”

Buffy put down the pants she’d been folding and took both of Faith’s hands into her own.

“Just stop for a second. I get the panic, I get that you’re having trouble dealing, but I don’t get why you can’t see me. Faith, I’m right here and I’m here for one reason only: you. We can fight this out, we can argue about it, you can get all stubborn and be all Faith like, fine, but I am still going to be here for you.”

“…”

“Angel is not going to turn his back on you, no matter what. He loves you, he won’t ever go anywhere. I’m not going to either. I get why you feel like you do and I’m sorry about what happened, but at the end of the day it just doesn’t matter. You can’t stay here, it’s not where you belong and I’m not going to let you do this to yourself. Just let go of that idea so we can focus on helping you deal with what happened.”

“What, B? Just gonna wave a magic wand and…”

“I have something pending.”

Faith shook her head with disbelief and admiration:

“That talk with Eddie you didn’t want me around for?”

"Yes.”

“So ya wanna share what’s goin’ on?”

“I do, but can I have awhile before I have to do that?”

Faith laughed:

“Yeah, right, B, like I’m not the biggest pussy when it comes to you. Take however long you need, but I don’t get it.”

“I don’t quite get it yet either, but maybe things will be cleared up for us both in a day or two.”

Faith began folding again:

“Okay, guess I can hold off on bein’ an asshole for that long, ‘specially if you keep sleeping with me.”

“Oh, I’m definitely going to keep doing that…and touching and licking and fucking…”

The noise of the shirt ripping was muffled by the sound of the machinery, but it was easily heard by every Slayer in the immediate area.

“Damn, B. Wanna warn a girl when you’re gonna go there?”

“…and biting and rubbing and doing that swirly thing you love with my tongue.”

Faith held up the tattered shirt that now looked like a bunch of rags:

“Proud of yourself?”

“Uh-huh, very.”

“I wish it was lights out already. I wanna be with you, B.”

“And I wish we still got private showers.”

Faith moved closer:

“Way you make me feel, I could take you right in front of everybody and not give a shit.”

“And I could let you.”

There was barely room to slip a piece of paper between them when Juanita’s voice sounded out:

“Six-five!”

“Shit.”

Faith’s tongue traced Buffy’s top lip before she pulled back:

“Fuckin’ hate this place.”

“And that’s why you’re getting out.”

There was no time for Faith to respond as Officer Wilkins walked over:

“You girls wanna keep it G-rated, at least on my shift?”

“Best I can do’s a PG-13, so consider…”

“Yes, Officer, we’re sorry.”

“Great, now get back to work.”

The instant she was out of hearing range, Faith started talking:

“Man, what a suck butt! ‘Oh yes, Officer! Whatever you say, Officer! Can I go down on you, Officer?’”

Buffy laughed and slugged her in the shoulder:

“Well, excuse me if I didn’t want to spend the night in the Hole. For some strange reason I’d rather be with you.”

“Probably ‘cause of my hole.”

“Faith!”

“B!”

“Jesus, you two putas wanna get a room?”

“Yeah, bitches, we can feel the heat way over here.”

“Shut up, Marge. That’s the fuckin’ dryers.”

“Ain’t nothin’ dry about it, is there, Juanita?”

“Couldn’t hear you, Margie. Too busy rammin’ my tongue down your throat.”

*****

The night and following morning passed peacefully. There was sex and cuddling, followed by sex and cuddling, all chased with a liberal helping of sex and cuddling until roll call started their day anew. It was just after lunch when Giles got back to her.

“Summers!”

Buffy sat up from her bunk at the sound of Sheila Jackson’s voice.

“Present.”

The door slid open:

“Come with me.”

Their eyes met and Buffy knew she was soon going to have some information, but Faith wasn’t happy with the timing of the interruption. She buttoned her shirt and also jumped down from Buffy’s bed:

“What’s the what? Laundry duty's not for five minutes.”

“She’ll be there, Lehane. Come on, Buffy.”

Buffy let herself be handcuffed, then followed Sheila Jackson until they ended up outside the bathroom where Buffy used to pay ten cigarettes to make her calls.

“The cell phone’s in the last stall, taped under the tank lid. Mr. Giles is on hold. I can give you ten minutes, then you’ve got to come back out. Just toss the phone into the tank, I’ll grab it later.”

“Thank you, Sheila.”

Buffy hurried in and found the phone with no problem. Her hand shook as she pushed the button.

“Please let there be something…”

“Ahh…hello?”

“Giles, it’s me.”

“Buffy, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Did you guys get anything?”

She could hear papers rustling as she spoke.

“Not all that much, I’m afraid. Our search was quite thorough and yet...”

Buffy deflated like a pinpricked balloon.

“So nothing at all?”

“I’m sorry, but it’s just the fairly standard life and death of a drug abuser. After Ms. Ravner’s sentence was overturned, she still couldn’t manage to avail herself of the second chance she’d been given. She died of a heroin overdose just months after her release. A sad business, really.”

“Wait a second…what?”

“I said Ms. Ravner died of a drug overdose just a few months after her release. There was no foul play suspected, and delving in even further has turned up nothing out of the ordinary.”

“You’ve must have the wrong Nicole Ravner, Giles.”

“No, not unless Officer Rhodes gave us incorrect information. We’ve her social security number, several prior and last known addresses, court dates, all of her prison and trial records. Besides, there hasn’t been another ‘Nicole’ at this particular institution for at least five years. If you’d like us to go over it again we can, but I must tell you, Buffy, I don’t believe…

“Faith thinks Nicole committed suicide right here in the cell block.”

“Sorry, say that again.”

“Faith saw Nicole’s body after she hit the floor in the cell block. She killed herself because she and Faith were having an affair and Faith broke it off.”

There was a shocked silence before Giles cleared his throat and continued:

“Buffy, do you trust Officer Rhodes?”

“Eddie? Yes, well as much as I can. I don’t ‘know’ him, know him, but everything I do know seems trustworthy. I like him a lot.”

Giles was rustling through his papers again:

“I agree, I quite liked him when we spoke and he seemed very fond of you girls, especially Faith. We ran an extensive background check on him as well and he appears to be exactly what he looks like: a good man doing an incredibly difficult job with compassion, fairness, and decency.”

“Color me not surprised.”

“So ruling out the possibility Officer Rhodes deliberately fed us incorrect information, that means either he’s being manipulated or whatever’s affecting Faith’s recollection of events isn’t impacting him.”

“So we’re looking at a spell?”

“Perhaps…How quickly can you speak with him?”

“Well, he’s been pretty accessible, so if that holds, sometime today.”

“Excellent. We’ll research on our end and see what might be the cause of this discrepencacy. Perhaps a demon, perhaps magic... Please exercise caution until we can firmly rule out Officer Rhodes as a suspect.”

She was nodding even though he couldn’t see her:

“I’ll be on guard of the guard, but Giles, I don’t get that vibe from him at all.”

“And most likely he’s not the culprit, but...”

“…be careful. I will be.”

“As soon as we’ve something to report, we’ll be in touch…mostly likely tomorrow.”

“All right, tell the guys I said ‘hi and thanks’.”

“I shall. Remember, Buffy, remain vigilant. We’ve no idea what we’re up against.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s going to be very sorry very soon. Bye, Giles.”

She hung up and re-taped the phone to its original position instead of just tossing into the tank as Sheila Jackson had instructed. She went out into the hall and Officer Jackson looked relieved to see her.

“Perfect timing. I need to be in the kitchen for guard duty in a few. Did you get anything?”

“Yes and no. We may need a follow-up call tomorrow.”

“All right, that should work out okay. I guess I’ll have to buy another phone though.”

“Nope, I re-taped.”

Sheila was handcuffing her again:

“You did? That’s great. Even though it was just a cheapie, I wasn’t looking forward to buying another one.”

They started walking to the laundry room once the cuffs were secure.

“Giles will reimburse you, but for the love of your sanity, I hope you kept your receipt.”

“My dad was like that too, no wonder they hit it off so well.”

They shared a laugh about their cheap, by the book fathers, and then Buffy lowered her voice:

“Is there any way I could talk to Officer Rhodes privately?”

They stood outside the laundry room as Officer Jackson uncuffed her:

“I’ll tell him you need to; he should be able to figure something out.”

“Thank you, Sheila, for everything.”

“Are you kidding? My Dad would come back to life just to kill me if I didn’t help out.”

They entered the laundry room and Buffy spotted Faith at a glance. She went over and they kissed furtively as Sheila notified the guards on duty that she was dropping off Prisoner 769445.

With a nod, she left, and Buffy and Faith began folding sheets together without a word. Several folded sets later, Faith finally spoke up:

“So, you gonna share or what?”

“I’d rather not, not right now.”

“And why’s that? Didn’t Giles and the gang come through?”

“They did, but we need more.”

Faith kept folding, obviously thinking it over.

“Not really gettin’ this, B. I wanna give you the time you need, but the mystery’s got me wicked curious. Plus gettin’ left out of the loop again isn’t exactly a great memory, ya know?”

“You’re not being left out of the loop, you’re being kept in the dark.”

Faith looked at her disbelievingly:

“That s’posed to make me feel better?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I did say it all cute and with a special ‘Buffy’ smile.”

Faith laughed, her building anger dissipating just like that:

“Fuck, you make me such a girl.”

“I promise, Faith, it won’t be much longer before the loop definitely includes you. Deal?”

”...Yeah, deal.”

Buffy stuck out her hand for Faith to shake, but Faith refused:

“Nah, don’t need that.”

Buffy smiled, all warm and happy:

“Because you trust me?”

“No, ‘cause I know where to find your ass when ya try to welsh on me.”

“My sweet talker.”

“Yeah, I got it goin’ on, B.”

They kept folding.

*****

They were halfway through their dinner when Eddie showed up at their table.

“Let’s go, Summers. Warden wants a word.”

Buffy stood up, trying to look casual with all eyes upon her. Faith grinned as she hauled Buffy’s tray across the table:

“Don’t worry, B, I’m gonna finish yours for ya.”

“That’s so thoughtful of you, F.”

“Yeah, the pussywhippin’s been pretty effective.”

Buffy was handcuffed, then marched out of the cafeteria without a word. They walked all the way to the Warden’s office in silence, and upon arrival, Eddie unlocked the door and motioned her in first. He flipped the light switch, then closed and re-locked the door.

“You can have a seat, Buffy.”

She did as he checked the other office to make sure they were alone.

“I thought for a second you really were taking me to see the Warden.”

He unlocked her cuffs and sat down across from her:

“Nope, Sheila got permission for us to meet here. So what’s this all about?”

“Nicole Ravner.”

“I got the message to your friend and faxed everything we had on her. I don’t really know anything else.”

“Eddie, how did Nicole die?”

“She’s dead? Damn, well, can’t say it’s a big surprise. Still sad though, girl that young. I’m guessing she couldn’t kick the junk, more than likely. Had a real chokehold on her when she was here, I know that much.”

“Faith says she committed suicide.”

“Yeah, guess you could call it that. She was for sure working hard to end up…Wait a sec, how would Faith know? She hasn’t seen Ravner in forever.”

Buffy was studying him intently as they spoke, looking for the slightest sign that he was lying.

“She says she saw Nicole’s body land right in the middle of the cell block.”

“What?! Here? No, Nicole sailed outta this dump on some technicality a long time ago.”

“Could Faith have her mixed up with someone else?”

Eddie stood, his face nothing but puzzled as he shook his head:

“Don’t see how. Nobody’s killed themselves anywhere in the prison for like eleven years, and far as I know, nobody’s fallen, not ever. What the hell’s Lehane saying that for?”

Maybe he was a master at it, but as hard as she searched, Buffy couldn’t see the slightest indication that he was anything but honest and confused.

“I don’t get this. I mean, sure, I call her ‘Crazy Girl’, but Faith ain’t crazy at all. I’d vouch for her sanity as much as I would my own. What the hell is going on here?”

“I wish I could tell you.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to give me something this time, Buffy. I got one fucked up girl who turns herself around in prison and saves my life, then falls to pieces. Then I got another girl who waltzes in with the Warden’s permission and proceeds to straighten out the first one using super speed and strength, plus a shower I think we’d all like to call our own.”

Buffy flushed red and he kept going:

“Now you’re telling me my girl thinks some junkie offed herself taking a header in the C-Block, which makes no kinda sense. Nothing’s normal about either of you or this whole situation, but I trust Lehane with my life, literally, and that gets extended to you by association. So at least give me some kinda basics ‘cause I more than get the feelin’ that I’m gonna be puttin’ my career and ass on the line ‘fore this is all over. At least like to know what I might be dying for.”

Buffy stared at him and it was the kindness and concern in his warm brown eyes that decided her.

“…You might want to sit down, it’s going to be kind of hard to believe.”

“Yeah, well those are the only things worth believin’, in my experience.”

He sat down and Buffy met his eyes:

“Okay, we’re called Slayers…”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Giles, could you please make sense that makes sense and maybe make it faster?”

She had fifteen minutes this time and at least half of them were already used up.

“All the research leads us to conclude that there is a Transformative demon in the prison, most likely a Pralak. As I said, it delves into its victim’s psyche, pinpointing with sometimes deadly accuracy its target’s weak spots. It needs a go between, someone close to the victim who can be read in order to create the scenarios that will have the greatest impact.”

“And then what?”

“Pralaks thrive on pain, guilt, and despair and as the relationship progresses, it can call up these emotions at will. Faith has been its primary target and main source of sustenance, and I’m not at all sure how she’s managed to withstand the assault for this long. I shudder to think what would have happened if you hadn’t intervened when you did.”

Buffy was now pacing in the bathroom, the tiny stall seeming like a prison.

“Okay, so how do we find this thing?”

“That’s the difficult part. It’s been inside the prison for a long time and will have taken on its human identity for good. It will appear completely human because for all intents and purposes, that’s exactly what it is. It’s adapted to its surroundings and short of a detailed examination in a laboratory far past anything encountered in a prison, there’d be no way to detect anything out of the ordinary.”

“But it isn’t human, is it?”

“No, it’s purely demon, and a truly loathsome creature at that.”

“So that means I get to go all Slayer on it.”

“Yes it does, and you will need to. Pralaks are incredibly formidable opponents.”

“Good, it can be all formidable while I’m dicing it into tiny pieces.”

Giles could feel her anger simmering and ready to explode, and he wasn’t feeling much calmer himself, none of them were. Faith had been violated, tortured, and manipulated, all right under their noses. There wasn’t one of them that wasn’t looking for payback.

“I must say, that’s a plan we all fully support.”

“Does it take anything special to kill it?”

“No. As this one is clearly passing as a human, anything that would kill a person will work. But it shan’t be easy, Buffy. Pralaks are extremely strong and well-versed in all things human. Do not take this upcoming fight lightly, even though you’ve two Slayers on your team. Faith could be compromised.”

“‘Compromised’ how? She’ll see Nicole running around in the fight or what?”

“Nothing like that, but her emotions will most likely be used against her. She will feel despair, guilt, and depending on how successful the demon is, she might be unable to help. The affects could be quite debilitating.”

“If that happens, I’ll handle it. Even if it doesn’t happen, I’ll handle it. I so want to make this thing pay.”

“Understood.”

Buffy was almost stomping around the bathroom, her anger building and driving her to slay. She knew she needed to calm down and regain control of her emotions, but at the moment she was finding that hard to do. Faith had been and was being tormented by a demon, and Buffy was a demon Slayer. Add those things together and it was clear she wanted a pound of flesh…correction: The Slayer wanted several pounds of flesh and she wanted to take them just as painfully as she possibly could.

“Any idea why this thing is here and why it did this to Faith?”

“There are two likely scenarios. One would be a vendetta specifically against Faith. Pralaks are frequently used as mercenaries for hire to perform all sorts of unpleasant tasks, but that seems more than a tad farfetched in this setting. The other, much more likely possibility, is that the Pralak was already on the scene when Faith appeared. Once it became apparent that she was a being of enormous power and committed to fighting evil, it would perceive her as a threat. Faith was in effect, cramping its style. As Pralaks thrive on pain and despair, a prison setting would be like a never ending smorgasbord, a heaven of sorts, and a Pralak would most happily live out its days there, unless a Slayer was suddenly in the mix and working toward the opposite goal.”

She was silent for a long time, so long that Giles feared the connection had broken.

“Hello? Buffy, are you still there?”

“I know who it is, Giles. I know who the Pralak is.”

“Yes?”

“It’s Frankie.”

“And who is this chap?”

“He is a she, a big bully who hates Faith and had all of the power until Faith showed up.”

“One moment. Willow, please begin researching the inmate records for a ‘Frankie’…Buffy, what’s Frankie’s real name?”

“Frankie “Bitch From Hell Who’s Soon To Be Dead” Pralak.”

“I see. Willow, please compile a list of all prisoners in which the derivative ‘Frankie’ could be used.”

“Giles, I need to get going.”

“Yes, all right, but I must urge caution, Buffy. Just because this ‘Frankie’ seems to be the likeliest of candidates, it doesn’t in fact mean that she’s who we’re after. Please don’t do anything rash until we can check things out.”

“Okay, but there’s no way it’s not her. She has a mullet, Giles.”

“Pardon? A fish? Or is that some sort of weapon?”

“It is the way she wears it, especially with that crew cut.”

The sound of shuffling papers was taking over and his voice already sounded preoccupied:

“I‘ll ask Willow to interpret that particular ‘Buffy-ism’ at a later time. Be careful and please, whilst I understand it’s going to be difficult to wait, there is absolutely no benefit in going off half-cocked.”

“We’ll wait, but hurry up, Giles. My Spidey sense is tingling like crazy.”

“I understand, and of course we’ll work with all the alacrity we can muster. You fully understand Nicole’s role in this?”

“Yes, at least enough to explain it to Faith tonight.”

“Splendid. The sooner she understands what has been done to her, the less impact it will have. Once we’ve destroyed this demon, I shall happily answer any and all questions Faith might have.”

“I’ll tell her.”

“Stay alert and safe, Buffy. We shall speak to you soon.”

And then he was gone. Buffy carefully re-taped the phone to the underside of the toilet tank lid and went out into the hall. Eddie was waiting for her this time:

“So?”

“There’s a demon in the prison, my money’s on Frankie.”

He cuffed her and they began walking.

“Well, she’s definitely not what you’d call one of the ‘good guys’. I guess if somebody’s gotta be one, it’d be her.”

“They’re doing more research, hopefully we’ll know for sure soon.”

“Then what?”

“Then I slay.”

He glanced down at her and noticed everything about her seemed different. She was still a tiny little slip of a girl, but Eddie knew without a doubt if it were any other situation and any other inmate, he’d be frantically calling for backup right about now.

“Damn, you sure can look scary as hell.”

Buffy smiled at him, her eyes friendly again:

“Sorry, I’m just mad and I wanna kill this thing…twice.”

“Factor in how many times Lehane’s gonna kill it, I’d better bring some baggies from home to pick up all the pieces.”

“You’d better bring a few boxes, all family size.”

When they got back to the cell, one look at Buffy told Faith she finally had the information they needed.

“What is it, B?”

“It’s big, but I’d like to wait for lights out, okay?”

“Sure, nighttime’s ours anyways, in or outta here.”

The call finally came much to Buffy’s relief, but before she could utter a word, Faith was kissing her.

“Faith…we need to…”

“I know. After, B. I want you.”

“I know, but we...”

“No. Now, B.”

They made love for a long time, Faith ravishing Buffy with a scary intensity. When it was over, Buffy was sore, winded, satisfied, and concerned.

“Want to tell me what that was?”

They were entwined in the bottom bunk, the dim glow from the hall barely reaching into their cell. Buffy’s head was on Faith’s chest as she listened to the rapidly beating heart gradually slowing into the rhythmic cadence she found so comforting.

“Was about fuckin’, B. What, didn’t I do it right?”

Buffy nuzzled in and nipped a lot harder than what could be considered playful.

“OW!”

“Don’t get all bitchy with me after that performance.”

“…Sorry.”

Buffy’s tongue slid smoothly along the bite, soothing the pain that was left behind. She gently kissed the faint mark, then settled her head back down.

“So, what was that?”

“I don’t know…Guess I’m freaking a little. Kinda scared about what you got to say and what it’s gonna mean.”

Buffy lifted up so that she could see Faith:

“Faith, it’s big and it’s going to be upsetting, but it’s going to be a good thing in the end. Regardless, it’s not going to make me leave you, so if that was supposed to be ‘goodbye sex’…”

She moved quickly and confidently, and Faith moaned underneath her as their centers aligned perfectly:

“Hello, F. My name is Buffy and I’m going to be your lover for the next hundred years. I will not be going anywhere…”

“Ohhh…”

“…I will not be deserting you…”

“Fuck, that feels so…”

“…and I will be making love to you, laughing with you, yelling at you, and happily living my life with you for as long as I’m alive. And just so you know…”

Buffy began moving faster and Faith joined her in perfect rhythm, her legs clasping tightly around Buffy’s ass.

“…I plan to stalk you in the afterlife too, so be prepared for an eternity with me, okay?”

“Buffy…”

This time when they were done and struggling to return their breathing to normal, they found themselves in the same position as before. Buffy’s head still rested on Faith’s chest and Faith’s arms were still wrapped around her, the sheet and blanket down around Buffy’s waist.

“B…I love you, so damn much.”

Buffy’s lips curved into a smile that Faith could feel against her skin.

“I love you too, so much so that I’m blissfully happy being in a prison cell under the scratchiest blanket ever created, making love with hardly any privacy at all in a room with a terrifying toilet plopped down in the center of it and all hell about to break loose.”

“Yeah, guess when you put it like that, no way can I ever doubt how you feel about me. Toss in no yogurt and no designer clothes, damn B, how long ya had it this bad for me?”

“Probably since I met you, but officially? A while.”

“Oh man, what a cop-out! What kinda time frame is that?”

“The only kind you’re going to get.”

They both laughed and Faith drew lazy patterns on Buffy’s back. Neither said a thing, just enjoying the calm before the storm they both knew was coming.

It was Faith who eventually took the bull by the horns:

“B, it’s time, yeah?”

“Yeah. Do you want to get dressed and sit up?”

“Not ‘less you do. I mean, I just feel better when we’re together, like everything’s gonna be okay. Figure I’ll be needing that feeling in a sec.”

“I think so, but, Faith? It is going to be okay.”

“Okay, I’ll try to hang onto that.”

Buffy kissed her and began explaining. Faith looked confused and disbelieving, but she listened calmly.

“So you’re sayin’ there was no Nicole?”

“No, there was definitely a Nicole. You saved her for real, and you knew her. That soft spot you had was probably real, she joined a gang while she was here, that stuff’s all true.”

“But?”

Buffy wished there was a better way to explain, but there wasn’t so she just kept going:

“At some point she started working with the Pralak demon, probably in exchange for drugs. She was trying to get closer to you so that the Pralak could learn where you were the most vulnerable. But you weren’t interested in Nicole or anybody, so they couldn’t do much. Maybe they gave up or maybe the demon was just biding its time. When I died, they went after you again. The demon already knew I was a weak spot and it was obvious you were in trouble, so with some first rate coaching, Nicole acted just enough like me to pull you in.”

The tension felt like it was humming through Faith’s body:

“So I kept screwing Nicole and the demon was reading my mind and making her seem more like you?”

“…Not exactly.”

“Well, what exactly?”

“Faith, Nicole left after that first time you had sex.”

Faith looked confused, but as the truth dawned on her, she looked horrified. She shot out of the bed and looked back at Buffy:

“I was banging a fucking demon?!”

“Hey, shut the hell up in there!”

“So she fucks good, wanna pipe down?!”

“Give us a break, we know she’s a demon in the sack!”

The catcalls faded as did the echo of Faith’s voice.

“Yes, Faith, you were and that’s why she kept wanting you to look at her. It would have made the spell more powerful and the rush of your pain even more pleasurable.”

“I feel like I could fuckin’ puke.”

They didn’t speak for a few minutes as Faith paced the cell, her arms wrapped around herself, her head bent as she stared at the floor.

“So when I saw her die…that was the demon?”

“No, Giles figured out that was all just an illusion. When I came back and we patched things up, the spell started weakening. You began feeling better, it was like you were getting a blast of medicine whenever we were together, and you started seeing flashes of ‘Nicole’ as she really was. You were losing the need you had for her, the Pralak couldn’t keep you hooked, so it started pulling out all the stops.”

“Yeah, I remember in our dreams, I felt lighter, like everything was gonna be okay. Then I’d see Nicole and it was like I couldn’t breathe. All I could think about was the horrible shit I’d done…I kept falling backwards no matter how hard I tried.”

Buffy sat up on the edge of the bed, pulling the sheet with her. Faith paraded back and forth with everything hanging out in the open, and although Buffy very much enjoyed the view, she couldn’t quite manage that yet and covered herself modestly.

“The Pralak was desperate to hang on. It was feeding on your pain and didn’t want to give it up, so it decided to escalate your decline, to make you one big snack of misery.”

“So what did I see that day?”

“A hallucination, a dream. It probably occurred at night while you were sleeping or maybe right as you were waking up in the morning. But it never happened, no one jumped, there was nothing even remotely like that.”

“Guess that explains why I never got any shit for just walkin’ off the job.”

Buffy went to her.

“Eddie told me that one morning you just didn’t get up. Roll call came and you were still in your bunk facing the wall. He thought you were sick or something, but you weren’t and you wouldn’t talk to him about it.”

“Yeah, guy tried to reach me ‘bout a billion times.”

“Anyway, you know what happened after that.”

“Yeah.”

They stood under the window and when Faith began trembling, Buffy wrapped the sheet around her too. She pulled Faith close and held her.

“Fuck, B…I didn’t kill her. It wasn’t my fault.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“And I was going backwards not ‘cause that’s me, but because I was under a spell. The demon was pushin’ my buttons.”

“That’s right, Faith.”

“’Cause that’s the thing I couldn’t get, you know, why I’d act like that. At night I’d dream I was killing people. I’d make’em scream, torture’em just for fun, but it wasn’t fun. I hated it, but I just kept doin’ it anyway. I’d wake up and I’d feel so dirty, like nothin’ I did could ever matter because I was just evil. I could still smell the blood, still hear them crying.”

“I know.”

Faith was shaking and Buffy guided them back to the bed where she laid down and pulled Faith with her, wrapping the blanket around them as well.

“I’d be with you and feel so good, but then it’d all fall apart. I knew I couldn’t be with you, I couldn’t trust myself to be with you…not even in a dream.”

She was crying and didn’t seem to know it.

“I wanted away from Nicole. She always made me feel worse somehow, like I was weaker in all kindsa ways. But I couldn’t give her up, not ‘tiI I started seein’ you. You were like a miracle, B. I felt so strong when I was with you, like I was gonna be okay. Then I’d see her…she was nothing like you. I saw that so easy, like a fog was lifting and I realized I hated her. It made me feel bad, but I couldn’t help it. Then she killed herself.”

“Except she didn’t, Faith.”

“Yeah, she wasn’t even here anymore.”

The tears came pouring out of her, pain and relief mixing together until Faith was just sobbing her heart out as Buffy held her.

“It’s going to be okay, Faith. You’re going to be okay.”

Faith cried for a long time, but when she stopped, she lifted her head and Buffy almost cheered when she saw the fire in her eyes:

“Where the fuck is this bastard?”

“We’re not positive.”

“When are we gettin’ positive?”

“The gang’s researching a couple of leads, so Giles asked us to hold off until we know for sure.”

“Makes sense, but not gonna be easy to do. Who’s the main suspect?”

“…”

“B, who is it?”

Buffy tried to sit up, but Faith’s arm held her right where she was.

“Who do you think it is, B?”

“…I think it’s Frankie.”

“Shit, of course it’s Frankie! And that puking feeling? It’s back in spades.”

“I promised Giles we’d wait.”

“…”

“Faith?”

Faith got up again and began her familiar routine of pacing.

“I heard you.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Means I heard you and I know what you want.”

“Okay, and does that mean…”

Faith’s voice came out loud and angry:

“Jesus fucking Christ! Just told me I been gettin’ fucked every which way for fucking ever by some disgusting ass demon, and I think I took it pretty fuckin’ good. Now you want me to just sit here with my thumb up my ass and do nothing?!”

“Just until we confirm who…”

“It’s Frankie! You know it and I know it. There’s plenty of other bad asses in here, but she’s the one that sets us both on edge. She’s got all the power, causes most of the pain, plus she’s butt ugly. It’s her and you know it. Giles is just doin’ his ‘Careful Grandma, you might break a hip if you make a move’ bullshit.”

“I know you’re upset, I’m upset and looking for vengeance too, but…”

“My Slayer sense goes off every time I’m near her, but she had me so fucked up I ignored it. What’s your goddamn excuse?”

“I don’t have one, I didn’t know I’d need it.”

The tone as well as the words had Faith looking at her, and what she saw was how angry, upset, and concerned Buffy was.

“…Fuck. I’m sorry, B. Guess I’m not taking it that good after all.”

“I’d say you’re taking it fine. I get why you don’t wanna wait, I don’t want to either, but…”

“You promised Giles. I get it, makes sense too. Can’t just start killin’ shit, that’s how accidents happen which is what got me here in the first place. I’ll be cool, least for a day or so. But I owe that bitch for the drive-bys even if she’s not a demon, plus a shitload of other stuff, so one way or another, her and me are gonna be talkin’ real soon.”

“And I’m right with you on all of that. But we also have to be careful, the odds are that her people are just that – people. We can’t just kill all of them…it’s going to be tricky.”

“Can for sure break their arms and legs for’em. Buncha assholes anyway, hangin’ around with her, terrorizing everybody else just ‘cause they can.”

Buffy snagged her as she walked by, pulling her back into their bed.

“But you can’t kill somebody just because they’re a bully, not even a Slayer can get away with that.”

Faith stretched out on top of her:

“Yeah, okay. So we wait until your Watcher…”

“‘Our’ Watcher.”

“So we wait until Giles…”

“‘Our’ Watcher.”

Faith laughed, smoothing the hair back from Buffy’s face:

“Gotta be a stubborn little shit about everything?”

“When it comes to you and it’s important…yep, I’m afraid I do.”

“Alright, so we wait for our Watcher to confirm what we already know is true.”

“Right, that’s the plan.”

“Then we kill that bitch dead.”

“Yes, somehow.”

Faith had been investigating Buffy’s neck, but her head jerked up:

“What do you mean? You said the thing’s killable.”

“It is, but I also said it seems human. We can’t just kill something that looks like a person and leave her body dumped in the hall.”

“Fine, I’ll toss her over the railing and she can decorate the C-Block floor.”

Buffy laughed:

“Hmmm…that’s actually not a bad idea.”

“Okay then, problem solved.”

“What are you doing?”

“What’s it look like, B?”

“Like you’re trying to start something.”

“Bingo, ya got it first try.”

She kissed her way down Buffy’s body, obviously heading for a specific destination.

“Shouldn’t…we be…Mmm…I love how you do that…”

“Yeah, I got mad skills.”

“But F, we should…be…figuring things…out...”

“Later, right now I gotta get this ‘Frankie’ taste outta my mouth.”

Buffy flinched in disgust:

“Faith!”

“B!”

“That is just so gross!”

“I know, think how I feel.”

Buffy laughed, reaching her hand down to caress Faith’s hair:

“You really are amazing, you know that?”

Faith looked up:

“Haven’t even got started yet.”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, well see, I got you, B. Everything else just seems like it’s not such a big deal…or at least seems like I can get past it. Now shut up, I gotta concentrate.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“No they’re not, B. Trust me, I’m lookin’ right at’em.”

****

It was the life of a Slayer to expect anything to happen at any time. One minute everything was normal, if not outright fine, the next an apocalypse was brewing and everything was hanging in the balance. Or maybe there was just the gradual build-up of random little moments, all innocent enough until the pattern suddenly began to emerge. Then it became more than clear that there really wasn’t anything random because everything meant something and ended up counting in the long run. And sometimes, no matter how hard a person tried, they just couldn’t do what Giles wanted them to.

That was why Buffy was now busy preparing herself for a prison fight, ready to defend her life as well as Faith’s. It wasn’t their fault, and although Giles would probably never believe it, neither Slayer had instigated the brewing battle. They’d stayed low key all morning and right through lunch, reporting for laundry duty just like they were supposed to. The problem was that another agenda was already in motion by then, one they had not been made privy to.

Buffy had just hauled some clothes out of the dryer and was folding them when Faith sidled closer to her and spoke softly, so softly only a Slayer could hear her.

“We’re in trouble.”

“How?”

“No guards ‘cept Morrison in the hall.”

“That’s weird.”

“Nobody in here now but me and you and Frankie’s crew. At least twelve and they keep comin’.”

“That’s not good.”

Faith’s head didn’t move as her eyes roamed the room.

“More out in the hall. They’re runnin’ a set-up for a blanket party.”

“A ‘blanket party’?”

“Yeah, they toss a blanket or a sheet over ya so you can’t see, then beat the shit outta ya.”

“Okay, I’d like to avoid that if possible. Maybe we should just walk out of here.”

“They got all three doors covered, inside and out. No way to go without the fight we’re tryin’ to avoid.”

Buffy’s voice was nothing but perky:

“In good news, we’ve got the wall behind us. I say we should go back to back sideways.”

“Agreed.”

“So how long will Morrison let it go?”

“Depends on how much cash he got, but a guy like him? Gotta figure ‘til the alarm sounds which means some other guard’s gonna have to stumble onto us. Not too likely this time a day, not in here.”

Buffy kept folding, but she was watching everything taking place around her.

“So we’re on our own. Works for me.”

“Me too. You seen Frankie at all today?”

“No, she wasn’t in here either.”

Faith smiled and it wasn’t fun-filled.

“Bitch’ll show, sooner or later. B, I know they’re humans, but they’re not good ones. Watch yourself, ‘cause they’ll kill you soon as look at you.”

“I’ll be ready, Faith.”

“Don’t I know it.”

The next half hour pretended to pass normally, but the Slayers weren’t fooled. They were on edge, all of their senses heightened. They observed the subtle blocking off of the three exit doors with solid looking wooden wedges slid smoothly and stealthily underneath them, they noticed how the always open supply closet was closed and probably locked as well, cutting off all of the available escape routes.

Frankie’s crew dispersed themselves strategically around the room casually and professionally, and it was doubtful that a normal person would have even noticed what they were doing. But the two women they were boxing in weren’t normal, they were built for battle and they easily recognized a trap being tightened.

They could also hear the faint clink of shivs and chains as the weapons were brought out and put covertly into positions that were easily accessible.

“I count twenty-nine to two, F.”

“Not good odds for the dumb bitches, but then they got the weapons.”

Five more minutes passed before the opening foray began.

One of the girls came down the aisle between the folding table and the dryers gesturing with a spray bottle that she was trying to sell as empty. Slayer hearing however, made it clear that there was plenty of liquid inside. Another girl followed right behind her cohort, dramatically reenacting a scene from “Leave it to Beaver”, the one where June again goes into mourning because she finds a stain on one of her blankets.

Eddie Haskell spoke first:

“’Scuse me, you guys happen to have any more bleach?"

“Nope, not yet.”

The girl raised the bottle quickly:

“Choke on it, bitch!”

She sprayed the bleach right into Faith’s eyes and the other girl threw the blanket over Buffy, signaling five other girls to rush in…except Faith was holding the bottle, the previous bleach owner was unconscious on the floor and the blanket party host was now wrapped in said blanket and smashing her way into the oncoming party crashers.

“Hey, anybody need any bleach? I found this bottle and it’s all squirt ready!”

There was nothing at first, and then an extremely large woman took charge:

“Look, you can’t get outta this. We got the numbers, the screws ain’t here or comin’ any time soon neither. We’re gonna beat the shit outta you Lehane, but got no orders to kill ya. The little airhead, well, Frankie wants to fuck her for awhile, then maybe pass her around. Ain’t ideal, but nobody’s gotta die.”

“Excuse me?”

All eyes turned to Buffy:

“I am not an ‘airhead’. This blonde comes from a bottle, so I’m not even really a ditz. Oh, and Frankie should probably go fuck herself. I’m with Faith.”

“Look, we get it. You assholes are the dregs, but we’re gonna cut ya a break anyway. Me and B aren’t even sweatin’ this, so that oughta tell ya somethin’.”

The big girl laughed:

“Yeah, yeah, all seen or heard about what you can do. That’s why we got plenty of us here.”

Faith’s smile deepened:

“Bitch, nobody here’s ever seen what I can do, and as much as it hurts to admit it, B’s even better than me.”

“Awww… really, Faith?”

“Shit B, you know it’s true. Always end up handin’ me my ass, one way or the other.”

“Well, of course I know I’m better than you, I just can’t believe you’re admitting it.”

Faith’s dimples appeared:

“Fuck, don’t gotta be so smug about it. Not like I can’t…”

“Hey!”

The Slayers turned back to Frankie’s proxy, Buffy’s eyebrow arched at the interruption:

“Yes?”

“We’re offering you one chance to surrender.”

“Oh, I thought we were offering you that.”

“Yeah, me and B was tryin’ to let you dumb asses know you’re in way over your heads.”

“Fine, wanna play it this way? Take’em ou...”

She went down, out for the fight as the plastic bleach bottle hit her Slayer-hard in the temple.

Buffy and Faith stood back to back and began defending themselves in the narrow alley- like aisle. Frankie’s goons quickly became frustrated as they were bruised and bloodied, yet barely able to land a hand on either of their targets. Eventually they got the bright idea to stand on the other side of the table and sling their chains across it.

Enough of the blows connected to make Buffy and Faith move, each leaping onto the table, then without hesitating, onto the extra-tall dryers. They hit and rolled off to the floor on the other side, out of sight for the moment.

“Ideas, B?”

“Might as well take our chances…”

Buffy kicked a laundry basket on wheels down the aisle, tripping three girls and several more running up behind them.

“… out in the hall.”

“Let’s motor.”

Half of Frankie’s crew gave chase, but Buffy and Faith turned on the Slayer speed as they ran for one of the exit door that didn’t have Morrison standing outside of it. They fought their way through several girls who had come around the other end to cut them off, kicking, punching and shoving into the clear while barely slowing down. They were nearly there when Buffy noticed Faith dropping back.

“Faith, come on!”

Faith shook her head, the tears streaming down her face:

“Go, B.”

“Faith!”

She turned back for her, but the crowd was already there. Chains hit Faith twice, three times, the last one actually wrapping itself around her neck as the owner yanked back hard, pulling Faith from her feet.

Buffy wanted to wade into the mix and grab her, but she knew that was exactly the wrong thing to do. A shiv cut into her arm as her delay let several of the inmates catch up to her. She struck out, the sound of various bones snapping and the cries of pain that followed, kept her company as she dispensed with the first wave that reached her.

Two tough looking inmates lunged at her with a blanket, but Buffy leapt over them, reaching back and snatching the party favor from their surprised hands. She draped it over the guard by the door, then kicked her into the fast approaching group. They all collided, some falling to the floor, others wobbling off balance and bumping into the fresh arrivals coming up behind.

Buffy bent and quickly removed two of the three wedges under the door. A chain hit right next to her head, but she grabbed for the last wedge and yanked it clear. Her hand caught onto the chain when it lashed out again and the Slayer pulled it from the grasp of one of Frankie’s minions. The woman couldn’t move fast enough to untangle the chain from her hand, and she screamed in pain as her shoulder dislocated and her wrist and fingers broke.

Buffy opened the door and kicked the guard in the back of the head before he could turn around. He was unconscious as he fell and Buffy had his baton cleared before he dropped to the floor. She swung out, smashing the weapon into the girl closest to her, hitting her right in the mouth and feeling her teeth give way. The girl reeled back with her hands to her face, then stumbled and fell.

Juanita heard the commotion from down the hall and came running with several of her gang. Buffy threw the baton and it broke the glass over the locked alarm switch just as Juanita drew even with it. She never hesitated, pulling the lever down as she ran past to follow Buffy. A klaxon sounded and suddenly all hell broke loose.

Everyone began fighting, guards and inmates alike. Prisoners poured out from their open cells before the doors could automatically slam shut, and the guards in the control room, including Sheila Jackson, locked themselves in to maintain command of the facility and prevent the inmates from taking over. Other guards began trying to contain the current level of chaos until the riot squads could arrive and quell the uprising for good.

A prison riot was in full swing.

“What’s going on, chica?”

“Frankie set us up. They’ve got Faith in the laundry room!”

Buffy punched another one of Frankie’s stragglers in the stomach, then gave her a quick uppercut to the jaw that caused her to drop like a sack of potatoes. Juanita and Large Marge were busy trying to open the laundry room door, but it wasn’t remotely budging.

“Shit! Margie, smash it!”

Marge was trying, shoving her considerable weight against the door, but it wasn’t giving an inch.

Eddie ran up, keys in hand, and a jagged cut bleeding down his face. He fumbled to unlock the door:

“What’s happening?”

“Frankie’s got Faith!”

The lock turned, but the door didn’t budge. Both Eddie and Marge slammed into it, but it refused to even move, let alone open.

“They got it jammed! Must have it barricaded too!”

“Stand back.”

Buffy’s voice cut through the din and Juanita looked at her like she was crazy:

“Buffy, we can’t get in that way. If Eddie and Margie can’t…”

The door was ripped off its hinges, four of Frankie’s crew hitting the floor as they lost their balance. Large Marge and the rest of Juanita’s gang stopped to deal with them, but Buffy continued in, Juanita and Eddie right behind her.

They were instantly engaged, but Buffy used the chain to her painful advantage. She moved through the mass gracefully with brute force, taking out some at a distance with the chain and using her empty fist and her feet to dispense of those up close.

Her eyes sought Faith, but she was nowhere to be seen. Buffy spun in a complete circle looking, but neither Faith nor Frankie were anywhere in sight…but the supply room was. The door was still closed, but that had to be where they were, where Frankie had been all along.

She heard a cry of pain behind her and turned to see Juanita with a shiv sticking out of her shoulder. Eddie was fighting with Morrison and two prisoners who had metal pipes in their hands were stalking Juanita. She started to go to them, but Juanita stopped her:

“We’re good! Get Faith!”

Buffy kicked the door in and the sight that greeted her was not one she’d ever wanted to see. Frankie was straddling Faith, the look on her face orgasmic as Faith writhed in obvious agony beneath her. The smell of smoke was heavy in the air, and Buffy realized that it wasn’t drifting in from laundry room, but emitting from Faith herself.

Buffy tackled Frankie around the neck, hauling her off of Faith, only to find herself swatted like a fly into several neatly stacked boxes of detergent. Buffy shook her head to clear it and saw that Frankie was right back on top of Faith like an addict determined to get her fix.

Buffy smashed a heavy canister of something against the back of Frankie’s head and Frankie had had enough. She grabbed Buffy around the throat and lifted her into the air, squeezing tighter and tighter until the room seemed to be growing dark.

“How do you like that, Slayer? All of your lover’s strength is killing you.”

Buffy’s hands clawed at Frankie’s, but it seemed to have no effect, so Buffy kneed her hard in the face. Frankie snarled in pain, her nose clearly broken as she threw Buffy into several barrels of bleach and stalked towards her.

She pulled Buffy to her feet by her hair and punched her several times in the face. Buffy’s blood sprayed against the wall and onto the floor, but Frankie kept right on going. Buffy blocked a blow, only to have her arm snapped for her efforts.

Frankie held her upright with that arm, twisting and keeping her grip tight as she pounded Buffy relentlessly with her other fist. Buffy kicked out, connecting solidly with Frankie’s crotch and she lurched away in pain as Buffy hit the floor.

“Hey!”

They both looked up at the sound of the voice. Faith was on her feet, looking weak and barely able to stand.

“Why ya fuckin’ with her when ya got me?”

Frankie picked Buffy up and threw her into the storage shelves, knocking them over in a domino effect and burying Buffy in supplies and heavy corrugated metal.

“Want some more, don’t ya, Faith?”

“What do you think?”

“I wish I could haul you out of here and make you my personal pet.”

Faith was edging for the door, and Frankie laughed:

“You think you’re going to escape? You’re not. I can stop you in a second. How do you feel now, Faith?”

Faith’s legs almost buckled as she felt so much guilt, she could barely stand.

“…Stop.”

“Stop trying to get to the door then.”

“Okay…alright…”

Faith stood still and the feeling went away instantly.

“I’m in your head, Slayer. How do you like it?”

“Fuck you.”

Faith went down to a knee as her most painful emotions took over.

“You’re such a rude cunt, Faith.”

“B…”

Frankie glanced over at where Buffy was buried:

“Your precious love is either dead or unconscious, and that’s your fault.”

“No…B…Not B…”

“Why not Buffy? She’s going to get it sooner or later. Your kind are vermin, preying on the weaker demons, terrifying them…You almost killed her yourself once, remember, Faith?”

“I…make it stop. Please…make it stop…”

“Sure, it’s going to stop forever for you. I hate to gorge and kill, but unfortunately your beloved slut has started a riot. We’ve got just minutes before half of the prison comes pouring in, even though from what I can sense, my girls are holding their own. That’s only going to last until the riot squad gets here though, and I want to make sure I have time to finish killing Buffy if she’s still alive.”

Faith was huddled on the floor crying as Frankie approached her.

“You’re so pathetic, I love it! I can smell all of the fear, guilt, and pain. In the old days I would have kept you for years, living high on the ‘human’, as we say. Damn, those were good times. Plus, an evil Slayer trying to make amends? Everyday would be like Thanksgiving, well, without the football.”

Frankie straddled her again and leaned down to push her onto her back when Faith’s arm swung out at her, the hidden shiv slicing deep across her neck.

“Not gonna kill B…no matter how bad I feel…Fattie.”

The blood, a deep rich human red spattered on the floor as Frankie staggered back in shock. Her eyes were filled with disbelief, then rage, and with a flick of her hand, she had Faith curling into a tiny ball, sobbing and screaming as every negative emotion she’d ever felt hit her all at once.

There was a rustling noise and then a fabric softener covered Buffy lurched to her feet clumsily, cuts and scrapes dripping blood, her broken arm hanging awkwardly as she grabbed Frankie by the hair with her good hand and flung her headfirst into the nearby wall with all of the Slayer force she could muster.

Frankie’s head exploded and she was dead in an instant. Buffy swayed and tottered over to Faith who was slowly uncurling and struggling to her feet, the air around her once again smelling like smoke.

“B, you okay?”

“We don’t like drive-bys. You?”

Both Slayers sensed it at the same time and their eyes went to the supply room door. Eddie and Juanita were both standing there with stunned looks on their faces.

“Hey guys, how’s it goin’?”

“They don’t look so good, F. Plus they’re in triplicate and fuzzy like…”

Buffy passed out, falling toward Faith who caught her easily:

“I got ya, B. Just hang on.”

****

One Year Later…

Buffy entered the prison, handing over the things she’d brought and then passing through the metal detector. The guard smiled at her, recognizing her not as a former inmate but as a regular visitor.

“Good to see you again, Miss Summers.”

“You too. Can you believe this weather we’re having?”

“Yeah, not too hot to really get out and enjoy it. You’re at #8 today.”

“Thanks.”

With a smile, Buffy headed to the black chair at #8 and waited.

She hated coming to the prison, it was hard to believe she still had to. All of the appeals had gone nowhere, all of the possibilities for a reduced sentence had disappeared as if they’d never existed. It turned out that murdering another inmate by smashing her head into a wall after slicing through her jugular with a shiv, was considered a serious offense. Even when a respected guard swore repeatedly under oath that it was a simple case of self-defense.

The situation was depressing, so far past depressing that it forced Buffy to put it out of her mind and focus only on happy thoughts. It didn’t help either of them if she showed up all morose and sad, so she plastered a smile on her face and tried to radiate her special brand of “Buffyness”.

A couple of minutes went by before Buffy spotted the familiar dark hair. When she passed #7 she came into full view, and Buffy smiled sincerely when she saw the grin and dark brown eyes.

They both picked up the phone on their respective sides at the same time, but Buffy spoke first:

Hi. You’re sure a sight for sore eyes.”

“Not lookin’ too shabby either.”

“I brought you that good chocolate you like and a few magazines.”

“Maybe the screws’ll get’em to me in a week.”

Buffy shook her head:

“Nope, I gave them to Officer Harrison. She always delivers everything.”

“That she does. So chica, where’s your better half?”

Buffy laughed:

“I had business nearby the last few nights, so she’s meeting us. She’ll be here any second.”

“Okay, I can make do with you. So, what’s the word from the outside?”

They chatted comfortably about what Buffy and Faith had been doing, using coded words to discuss slaying business. Juanita was extremely interested and she was always saying she knew Faith had to be some kind of superhero, even way back when. She called her: “Boss Bitch” or “BB” because Wonder Woman was already taken.

Arms slipped around Buffy’s shoulders and she leaned back into them as she felt the lips kissing her gently on top of her head. Then the phone was yanked roughly from her hand and a hip check shoved her and her chair off to the side.

“Hey there, puta!”

“BB! How’s it shakin’?”

“Shakin’ great, ‘specially when B’s attached to the other end.”

“Faith!”

“B!”

Juanita laughed:

“Damn, better watch it, don’t wanna make the powder puff mad.”

“Yeah, she’s got me all…OW!!! Fuck!”

Buffy took the phone from her:

“Don’t encourage her, okay?”

“Buffy, it takes nothing from me to get her going.”

“I know, but still.”

“B, gimme the phone back.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“Say ‘please’.”

“I just did!”

Buffy tried not to smile as she pouted:

“Yeah, but I want you to do it because I said so.”

“You are so fuckin’…Fine, can I please have the goddamned phone?”

“Since you asked so politely.”

Buffy handed it over and Juanita coughed:

“Pussywhipped.”

“Wanna screw around or wanna hear what I got ya?”

Juanita sat up and tried to get the smart ass look off her face:

“Faith…c’mon, Boss. You know I’m on your side…Bitches, yeah?”

“And what do you know about it? Keep livin’ like a fuckin’ nun.”

“Well, you’re half right.”

Buffy squealed and snatched the phone away from Faith.

“Who is she? What’s her name? What does she do?”

“She’s a rocket scientist, B.”

Buffy ignored her:

“You know what I mean, Juanita. Tell us everything.”

Juanita smiled as she watched them sharing the phone and looking at her with real happiness. They were great girls, real friends, and she didn’t regret taking the rap for Frankie’s murder.

She was already in for life, a double homicide for which she was totally guilty. The two bastards had gotten just what was coming to them and Juanita knew she’d do it all over again if given the chance. She was at peace with her crime and she slept good at night, she always had.

Frankie’s murder didn’t do a thing to her, she was never getting out anyway, despite the high hopes that Buffy kept hanging on to. Juanita fully admitted that she belonged in jail, but Faith? No way, no matter what her record said she’d done. Faith was a hero, cut and dried, and the fact that she had somebody like Buffy in her corner, well, nobody with any brains could argue with that.

She’d seen them take down Frankie and although she didn’t understand everything, she knew enough to know that the Slayers needed to be on the outside where they could save the world whenever it needed saving. Things like “Frankie” needed somebody to kill them, so Juanita copping to a murder she didn’t commit? Whatever. She owed Faith her life anyway.

At the scene, Faith had at first refused to go for it, but shocker of shockers, a screw had pushed her into it. They hadn’t had a lot of time, but there’d been just enough so that Juanita could take the shiv out of Faith’s hand and claim it as her own while Officer Rhodes had talked sense to her. With Juanita’s way less than stellar record and Officer Rhodes’ testimony under oath, Frankie’s death rested exclusively on Juanita’s shoulders.

Buffy had left the prison three days later as if she’d never been there, and it was some time less than two months after that, that Faith had gotten her sentence overturned and found herself free to go. She’d hugged Juanita fiercely, almost popping ribs as she thanked her.

“Ya don’t gotta thank me, Boss. I owed ya, now we’re even.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but ain’t gettin’ rid of me that easy.”

And she hadn’t. Buffy and Faith had kept her a part of their lives, writing letters, mailing treats, and visiting every three weeks. They looked happy and that made Juanita feel as good as gold. Her life hadn’t been worth much, but helping out two superheroes who just happened to be two nice girls in love? Juanita had done something right for a change.

They talked about Shonda and her hotness until the phone clicked, letting them know they only had two minutes left. Faith took over:

“So, big question is…Got her in your cell?”

Juanita grinned big:

“You know it, BB, as of three days ago. Eddie made it happen.”

“Guy’s worth his weight. Speakin’ of, brought some ‘X-Men’ and ‘Batman’ comics for ya, twenty in all, so don’t let’em cheat ya.”

“Yeah? Thanks, Faith!”

The call went out:

“Wrap it up!”

“Guess I gotta go. You putas be safe out there.”

“You too, Juanita. Let us know what Shonda likes and we’ll bring her something next time.”

“Yeah, imagine the bitch is goin’ nuts havin’ to deal with you 24/…”

The line went dead, but Juanita communicated easily with her middle finger raised to Faith against the glass and a huge smile on her face as she walked off.

Buffy and Faith linked hands and filed out with the other visitors.

“She looked good, yeah, B?”

“Uh-huh. I’m glad she found somebody.”

“Yeah, makes the days and nights almost livable in there.”

Buffy leaned her head into Faith’s shoulder:

“It makes them pretty livable out here too.”

They paused for a quick kiss, then kept walking.

“Damn, that Eddie’s a class act, yeah? Gettin’ them celled up.”

“Yeah, hear that boy’s not bad.”

They turned around to see him leaning against the wall in the shade. Buffy ran to him and gave him a huge hug:

“Eddie!”

“Hi, Buffy.”

Faith gave him a complicated handshake he couldn’t possibly keep up with, although he tried until she began laughing.

“Come here, Crazy Girl.”

He pulled her to him in a bear hug that lifted her off of her feet.

“How’s my favorite ex-cons doing?”

“Great! Me and B are livin’ large.”

“Glad to hear it. Buffy, she driving you around the bend yet?”

“No, so far, so good. I think I might be stuck with her.”

“Fuckin’ right you are! So Eddie, you gonna be down our way at the holidays?”

He smiled and nodded:

“Thinking me and the missus might. She’s dying to meet you girls.”

Buffy was already making plans:

“Make sure to bring her, your sister and her kids too.”

“Yeah, more the merrier, Boss.”

He laughed:

“They definitely loved it last time. I’ll give you girls a call, let you know for sure when it gets closer to the time.”

“Eddie, you did such a nice thing for Juanita.”

“Ahh, wasn’t that big a deal, Buffy. Everybody needs a little happiness, course that’s gettin’ harder to find with you and this crazy girl hoggin’ it all.”

Faith grinned:

“Shit, you kiddin’ me? I’d have to be crazy not to hang onto B.”

“No argument here, not either way. All right, I’d better go, my shift starts in a few and I gotta grab my mail.”

He hugged them again.

“Man, you two look just like ya oughta. Makes me happy, ya know?”

With a wave, he went inside and they watched him go.

“Damn, that guy’s really somethin’.”

“Yes he is. Definitely one of the good guys…Oh no you didn’t!”

“Huh? What?”

“Faith Lehane, what am I looking at?”

Faith tried to play innocent:

“Tough to tell, B, ‘specially with that lazy eye thing you got…OW!”

“Why would you bring the bike?!”

“Why not? It’s perfect bike weather and…”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed:

“How many times have we gone over this?”

“No clue.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed further, blazing right over into the “Danger” level.

“You’d better get a clue.”

“How? I didn’t know I was s’posed to be keepin’ track.”

“Why…is…your…bike…here?”

“…’Cause I want you holdin’ onto me today.”

“That’s a good start.”

“B, c’mon, look at it out here! Sun’s shinin’, birds are singin’ and shittin’ all over the place. All I needs something between my legs, wind in my hair and your arms wrapped around my waist, maybe inching up once in a while to my tits.”

Buffy looked at her, her head shaking in affectionate disbelief:

“Wow, I am so in love with you, I found every word of that nothing but romantic and charming.”

Faith practically beamed at her:

“See, bike’s a good thing. ‘Sides, I give us fifty miles ‘fore we gotta pull over someplace and fuck.”

“Oh my God, can you be any more full of yourself?”

“Probably not, but you know it’s true. Your pussy rubbin’ against my ass, your tits on my back…Fuck, let’s do it right now! I see some bushes over there.”

Buffy pulled her hand out of Faith’s:

“Get on the bike.”

Faith leapt onto the motorcycle from behind and revved it up.

“Let’s go, baby. Open road’s callin’ us!”

Buffy sat down calmly, shifting this way and that until she was comfortable. Her hands slid around Faith’s waist and as Faith pulled out of the parking lot, Buffy kissed the back of her neck.

Faith swerved slightly:

“Damn, B. Wanna warn a girl when you’re gonna go there?”

“‘Warning: Buffy’s On the Bike with You and She’s Madly in Love’.”

“See? That’s all I’m askin’.”

They rode in silence, the roar of the road and wind the only sound for miles.

“Hey, B?”

Buffy had been almost dozing, her head leaning sideways on Faith’s back, her hand rubbing slow circles on Faith stomach, the soothing purr of the motor, the feel of Faith’s silky skin…

“Hmmm?”

“You sure are one bad ass chick.”

Buffy smiled:

“I try.”

“Thanks again, B.”

“Faith…”

“Yeah, I know, but shit, I’d be dead or starin’ at a wall right now if it wasn’t for you.”

“But you’re not.”

“Nope, not even close.”

Buffy’s hand lifted to caress Faith’s breast.

“I’m glad you brought the bike.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh. Wanna pull over somewhere?”

Faith laughed:

“You’re such a tease.”

Buffy gave her a confirmation pinch, then slid her hand back down…a little further than before.

“Well, come on, F. I see lots and lots of bushes.”

“You just hang on for…eleven more miles.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I got a surprise waitin’ for ya.”

“What is it?”

Faith laughed and didn’t even both to pretend that she wasn’t going to tell her:

“Well, look at that sky, baby. Figured we’d have a picnic on the beach. Perfect weather for it.”

Buffy could feel herself melting right where she sat:

“Pull over.”

“Huh?”

“Pull over, by those trees there.”

Faith did as she was told, the road deserted and the countryside filled with only country sounds when she killed the motorcycle. She turned towards Buffy:

“B, didn’t you hear me? Got a picnic packed and waitin’ about ten mil…”

Buffy kissed her with everything she had, and Faith was totally dazed when they parted.

“Isn’t it crazy how loving Faith just always makes you happy and horny?”

“Huh?”

“Just wanted you to know how I felt about you.”

“Okay, B. Me too…That verse is plenty vice-a…I mean…”

Buffy laughed at how she sounded almost drunk:

“Faith, can you drive?”

“What?”

“Let’s just sit here a minute.”

“Okay.”

They sat there for a while, Buffy hugging her from behind, her chin resting on Faith’s shoulder as they simply appreciated the beautiful landscape.

“You ready to motor, B.”

“Yep.”

Faith leaned back, twisting her head for a quick kiss. She started the bike, waited for Buffy to hang on and then she took off in a cloud of dust.

“Don’t forget, B!”

They had to shout to be heard over the noise.

“What, F?”

“Gotta hang with me in the afterlife too!”

“I’ll be there!”

“Meet ya in the shower!”

“I’ll bring my soap on a rope!”

Their laughter swirled all around them as they roared down the open road.

The End